Donald Trump tweet-insults Carrier union official by name, blames unions for offshoring

Donald Trump harasses Carrier union official on Twitter

(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

published 8 December 2016

The president-elect of the United States, it appears, does not take criticism well.

Jones, who represents the employees at the Carrier factory and other plants in Indiana, had said that Trump lied about the number of jobs being saved when he took credit for the deal — Trump said that 1,100 jobs slated to move to Mexico will be kept in Indiana, when the real number is about 800 — and pointed out that his union is still losing 550 jobs at the factory while Carrier gets $7 million in tax breaks.

When someone called Jones on his flip-phone to tell him that Trump was criticizing him on Twitter, "my first thought was, 'Well, that's not very nice,'" he told The Washington Post on Wednesday night. "Then, 'Well, I might not sleep much tonight.'" Then the threatening calls started coming in. Jones said his focus now is trying to keep the spirits of his workers up, since many of them are still getting laid off. As for Trump, "he needs to worry about getting his Cabinet filled," Jones said, "and leave me the hell alone."

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Trump followed up his first tweet with some unsolicited advice from management to labor: "If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues." The New Yorker's James Surowiecki offers an alternate explanation for why United Steelworkers is losing union jobs:

Jones, for what it's worth, says a big part of his job is negotiating to keep U.S. factory jobs in Indiana. And if you don't believe him, maybe you'll believe this guy. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.