Trump criticizes union leader critical of Indiana deal
ASSOCIATED PRESS
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence wave as they visit to Carrier factory, in Indianapolis, Ind.
WASHINGTON >> President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to slam a union leader who criticized his deal to discourage air conditioner manufacturer Carrier Corp. from closing an Indiana factory and moving its jobs to Mexico.
Trump tweeted Wednesday evening: “Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers.”
That local union branch represents workers at Carrier’s Indianapolis plant.
In a second tweet, Trump suggested Jones should “Spend more time working — less time talking” and the union should “Reduce dues.”
About 30 minutes after Trump tweeted about Jones the union leader started getting harassing phone calls, he told MSNBC Wednesday.
One caller asked: What kind of car do you drive? Another said: We’re coming for you.
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He told the cable news outlet he wasn’t sure how the callers found his number.
“Nothing that says they’re gonna kill me, but, you know, you better keep your eye on your kids,” Jones told MSNBC. “I’ve been doing this job for 30 years, and I’ve heard everything from people who want to burn my house down or shoot me. So I take it with a grain of salt and I don’t put a lot of faith in that, and I’m not concerned about it and I’m not getting anybody involved. I can deal with people that make stupid statements and move on.”
Jones told The Washington Post in a story published Tuesday that Trump lied about how many jobs were saved by the deal, which included $7 million in state tax incentives.
He accused Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence of staging “a dog and pony show” around the deal.
63 responses to “Trump criticizes union leader critical of Indiana deal”
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“He accused Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence of staging ‘a dog and pony show’ around the deal.”
In other words, a simplistic marketing ploy aimed at impressing the simple-minded. Staged by a divisive “leader” who encourages harassment of anyone who criticizes him. Will all of that make this country “great again?”
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“The Art of the Deal” in play.
January 20, 2017 #MAGA
Just shows how Trump is going to pull off his goal of becoming dictator in chief by trying to silence any opposition to him.
O’s dictatorship is over…Clinton cartel is over.
J.P. Trump V.P.E. Pence administration has begun.
Buckle up your seatbelt.
Jabuary 20, 2017 #MAGA
January
P.E. Trump
According to another article online, it looks like he still saved about 450 jobs though. The beef apparently occurred over the fact that Trump said he saved 800 jobs, whereas Chuck says 350 of those engineering jobs were never going to be moved to Mexico anyway. Which leaves 450 jobs that were going to be moved to Mexico. 450 is still a lot of jobs. Even big law firms at most have 100 lawyers with 100 staff members.
450 jobs is a lot of jobs that Trump saved.
Agree 450 jobs is great…Are his supporters going to hold Trump to what he says though…800 is not 450…like Obama who said prices wouldn’t go up and you can keep your doctor…Obama supporters seem to give him a break on his slip ups…Obamacare is great for more than 450 people in the US but is still looked down upon…#MAGA
“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” Maya Angelou
Disagree 450 jobs is horrible….if you spend $7 million to do that.
Repeat, 450 jobs is horrible….if you spend $7 million to do that.
Again, 450 jobs is horrible….if you spend $7 million to do that.
Vice President $233,000
Delegates to the House of Representatives $174,000
Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico $174,000
President pro tempore of the Senate $193,400
Majority leader and minority leader of the Senate $193,400
Majority leader and minority leader of the House of Representatives $193,400
Speaker of the House of Representatives $223,500
…450 jobs for 7 million is a bargain. #MAGA
Someone forget to inform that union guy that it is 2016, soon 2017 and unions are insignificant.
Probably the main reason why America is slipping. We have been surpassed by Canada in per capita income. We need strong Unions or you will have businessmen like the Donald stiffing you.
Unions have outlived their purpose, especially here. We have a high cost of living due to the high cost of construction labor.
incorrect..you leave out many costs.
Where are the unions when you need them. No sense strike if you don’t have jobs.
Naive statement. Without unions, worker’s wages would be much lower. Who would fight the power of corporations? Who would fight for worker’s rights? Rich people like trump would run roughshod over their workers. The courts recently ordered his hotel in las vegas to negotiate a contract with their workers, who had voted to unionize, but he has so far refused to do so.
The unions are pretty much the only thing workers have now days to stand up for them since greedy corporations who want to turn all of their workers in to slave labor if they had their way. When Trump says he wants to make America great again, what he’s saying is he wants to go back to the days of the plantations where workers had no rights and any resistance was met with the snap of a whip.
What world do you live in? These archaic forced associations have been shrinking for decades. Thank you entrepreneurs who create jobs and make this nation the economic powerhouse it is.
And I suppose workers have nothing to do with the success of these entrepreneurs. Unions just protect the rights of those workers and ensure they can earn a living wage. Unions have been shrinking because corporations have been able to convince law makers to enact laws to keep unions from charging mandatory dues. People want to avoid paying dues but still enjoy the benefits that unions bring them. Can’t have it both ways.
People are paid for their productivity, not due to any union interference. Bad employees are kept at places due to union interference. union benefits are pathetic compared to non union jobs. Bonuses, vacations, healthcare ? non union employment wins hands down.
Noheawill you failed to mention a pension plan. You may be too young to remember that Hawaii’s plantations are always praised about how they brought industrialization to the islands. That is true but the sad fact is what you see today. Once thriving communities that have been reduced to a mere shadow of their former selves. Retirees who have been abandoned by the plantation owners who literally took the money and ran. Seniors who have to live off their meager social security benefits which is looked at as an entitlement by the republicans. This story is as familiar as people from the coal,steel and automobile industry that have seen their jobs go in every direction except back home.
Got to love the Donald. When this was first reported, the jobs saved was a thousand. Then the Union reported that it will be far less. But it is ok as this is the Donald and everyone expects him to lie. If Hillary had made such statements, imagine what the right would have said. Of course since state taxes will pay to keep these relatively few jobs here, no problem. Enjoy Indiana State tax payers.
agree. Trump is a showman. What he did was very minor. Very. The media once again got duped. Now we know Carrier will collect 7 million dollars from the taxpayer and then still plans to leave. Most of the jobs already left and none are coming back.
“What he did was very minor”
Maybe not for the hundreds of people whose job was saved.
There is a temptation on the part of the over”educated” to criticize small steps of progress because it does not solve the whole problem, unlike their grand theories that are detached from reality and ultimately either make the problem worse, or create an even bigger new problem.
@ boots lol & allie…
What P.E. Trump has done to help Americans so far the last 2 weeks is more than what Obama has done….hasn’t done in 8 years…ever in his whole life.
What is O’s greatest accomplishment that benefited a MAJORITY of Americans?
January 20, 2017 #MAGA
We don’t need to hold Trump to the words that he is saying though…just like Obama supporters gloss over that Obamacare “prices won’t go up and you can keep your doctor” thing…450 jobs doesn’t benefit the MAJORITY of America either…I bet Obamacare has helped more than 450 people in America though if we are just looking at HELPED numbers…#MAGA
@ jusris
MSM FAKE NEWS information will not make one respond coherently & correctly…spin yes.
I don’t have time for spin but thank you for your response in behalf of boots lol & allie…I’m sure they appreciate it.
January 20, 2017 #MAGA
450 jobs will NOT make America great again. Exaggerating it to “1,100 jobs” is not what a responsible, respectful (to the intelligence of citizens) official does.
If you have to spend $7 million in tax incentives to “save” 450 jobs, does that MAGA? No, overall it makes the economy worse. Multiply this dog and pony show by a thousand companies, and you’ll have a economic disaster.
They do the same in countries like Russia and China. They allow a few people (who sign their souls to the leaders) to have good jobs and good lives. They’re paraded around to impress the undereducated.
Job growth during Obama’s presidency was somewhere between 11 – 15 million. Does that mean he Made America Greater than Trump Already?
IRT MillionMonkeys: Yes Obama did a GOOD job too based off the numbers…BOTH sides are comparing what Trump has done in a MONTH and what Obama has done in 8 years…BOTH sides want to pick and choose which numbers they use. You would think BOTH sides would come together in agreement sometime, even if its by accident, but we are ALL going out of OUR way to not connect…#MAGA
Hillary wouldn’t have done a single thing. She wouldn’t save any Carrier jobs. Last time I checked, 1000 or 800 > 0. +1 for Donald
Hillary wouldn’t have wasted $7 million to keep 450 jobs. And she wouldn’t have exaggerated it to “1,069 jobs.”
-1 for Donald
Don ” the Bully ” trump is starting things all wrong. The country is doomed!!!!
Here we go again. The thin-skinned, petulant one cannot take any sort of criticism. The danger is that his supporters will take it upon themselves to attack his critics, like his own personal gestapo.
Thought you were on O’s side..why are you biting the hand that slapped you?
You are CORRECT Keonigohan…Obama was/ is thin skinned and could NEVER handle all the attacks that Trump has endured…It has taken ALOT to SLIGHTLY crack Trump…#MAGA
Talk is cheap.
About 800 jobs are remaining in Indiana. That’s way better than zero under Obams. They make an average of $60,000 which is about $54 million in income per year. It certainly matters to those keeping their jobs and keeps money flowing into the stat’s tax coffers and all the goods and services those employees buy.
The haters just want to hate on Trump even though he is doing a good thing.
Good things? He gave in to hostage takers. He paid ransom. In fact, he paid a ransom and they still killed off half the jobs. So he used taxpayer money to pay ransom to Carrier execs, and they STILL are shipping off half the jobs. Trumpelthinskin is the WORST NEGOTIATOR EVER!!!
Looks like someone is thin skinned. How about using more caps next time.
They look for any means of redemption after mouthing off for months about who was going to win the election and looking like a fool. Pua ting.
IRT Junkflyer: Yeah, but YOUR shirt looks SILLY…#MAGA
How about the ransom for hostages to Iran?
You mean the Iranian money we witheld during sanctions then only gave back to them when they followed through with their end? You, like most Trumpelthinskin supporters, have everything backward. We held their money hostage until they followed through with releasing our people. All that money was Iranian money. None of it was ours to begin with. But don’t let facts get in the way of your idi0cy…
Yeah, stop reading the fake news. Get an education, learn how to read. It was their money we had to give back to them anyway. But Obama cleverly sort of tied it in to the hostages, so they were motivated to hand them over before we gave THEIR money back.
There’s a lot of fake news out there, and politicians who have figured out how to manipulate the undereducated. Please get an education!
I must admit, American made goods are of better quality.
So what did Chuck Jones do to save any of the jobs at Carrier? Nothing. He’s had 30 years of collecting union dues but wasn’t able to negotiate with Carrier himself. Then he has the nerve to criticize the person who got something done? Talk is cheap, at least something got done.
There’s a reason he’s had threats against him for 30 years – say’s “I’ve been doing this job for 30 years, and I’ve heard everything from people who want to burn my house down or shoot me”.
The union can’t negotiate State tax incentives. Pence had to offer that, and Trump takes the credit.
I also don’t believe for a second that he has received threats of any kind. I think he’s making that up for the publicity. the proof is when he says he hasn’t reported it and can handle it himself. Sure. Somebody threatens to harm you and you ignore it. But then again he does say he’s been getting those kind of threat for 30 years. But isn’t it funny that only now that that can be related to Trump somehow he mentions it……who is the publicity freak here? Go away unions…go away. you negotiate NOTHING that the employees would have gotten anyway but the difference is the “members” were conned into paying dues to get it!!
Are you kidding? Employers offer as little as they can get away with. Corporations love people like you. They love it when people fight each other…does their job for them and unions are weakened. Wages for all workers eventually suffer if employers face no resistance.
I agree…But I also thought you were talking about America and how “…employers (Politicians) love when people fight each other (Democrats and Republicans)…and the Union (America) weakens. Wages (Rights) for all workers (American People) eventually suffer if employers (Politicians) face no resistance.” #MAGA
He criticized Trump for lying about the deal. Trump’s numbers were FAKE. Instead of correcting his statement, Trump attacked the person who called him out. Is this really what’s in store — a President who attacks individual Americans?
Would you agree that Obama has also done SIMILAR things as President? Not any worse not any better, just SIMILAR. “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” Maya Angelou
I’m not referencing the attacking individual American part. #MAGA
Washington Post reports: “About a year ago, 18-year-old college student Lauren Batchelder stood up at a political forum in New Hampshire and told Donald Trump that she didn’t think he was “a friend to women.”
“The next morning, Trump fired back on Twitter — calling Batchelder an “arrogant young woman” and accusing her of being a “plant” from a rival campaign. Her phone began ringing with callers leaving threatening messages that were often sexual in nature. Her Facebook and email inboxes filled with similar messages. As her addresses circulated on social media and her photo flashed on the news, she fled home to hide.”
Whoever suggested that his campaign behavior was just a show and that if elected he would suddenly become Presidential was wrong. Trump is an internet troll, a stalker, and a thug. His thin skin, impulsiveness and vindictiveness should have disqualified him. He has the emotional maturity of an eight-year old playground bully. Are we really going to have 4 years of a President who unleashes Twitter attacks on any American who might criticize him? Knowing that his tweets unleash a barrage of hate and threats from his racist, white-nationalist followers, why does he continue? The sheer lack of decency and disregard for fundamental democratic values is sickening. I fear we are witnessing the rise of an American Mussolini.
At moments like this, it is appropriate to recall the historic words that Joseph N. Welch directed to Senator McCarthy, another American tyrant — “At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”
“Appreciate the chance to meet w/ Chuck Jones & hardworking men of Local 1999 about our efforts to save Carrier jobs,” Pence tweeted in March.
Union boss’s manipulate their workers, continue to sell out to the LEFT and could give a damn about their workers jobs as long as the money keeps flowing into their bank accounts. Hawaii is the worst, Vote Democrat or else…..and our government is a direct reflection of perpetuating the liberal agenda while forgetting about the common man and his ohana…..wanna talk about the DOE???
Trump didn’t criticize the union leader for being critical of the deal; he criticized him because he called out Trump for misrepresenting the deal by exaggerating the number of jobs that will not go to Mexico.
United Technologies’ CEO then announced “we’re going to make a $16 million investment in that factory in Indianapolis to automate to drive the cost down so that we can continue to be competitive. Now is it as cheap as moving to Mexico with lower cost of labor? No. But we will make that plant competitive just because we’ll make the capital investments there.” In other words, the jobs weren’t saved, they will be lost to automation instead of to Mexico.
The automation will be developed, built, and installed in the US.
Automation is the enemy to American jobs…cheaper and more reliable..Trump should fight to make automation illegal in the USA…Made in America…Made by People. #MAGA
It doesn’t matter where it is built; it will radically change our society and the nature of our jobs. It now takes fewer than 40 worker-hours to build a car in an American factory due to automation. Far more jobs will disappear due to automation than offshore moves and that trend is accelerating. One study estimate that 5% of jobs could be lost by 2020 due to automation. McDonald’s is opening totaling automated restaurants. In the auto industry, the massive underfunding of union retirement plans was not due to greedy unions, as some have claimed, rather it is the result of automation and other technologies that no one foresaw. Before automation, as the auto industry grew, for every worker who retired there was more than one new worker. The union benefit funds seemed to everyone, including management, to be a self-supporting system. Now, the opposite is happening. Due to automation, the worker to retiree ratio is completely out of balance. We think we have full employment when 95% of the people in the active work force are employed, but with the accelerating pace of technology, we have to be prepared for a future where all of the goods and services that we need can be provided by significantly less than 95% of the workforce. What if 80% or 70% of the workforce can do everything? What do the other 15% or 25% do? We need a President with a vision for a future that includes societal, technological and environmental changes that are hard for us to imagine, not a President whose ideas come from the 1980s.
“Spend more time working, and less time talking?” He should practice what he preaches.
Truer words never spoken