Donald Trump blasted the Carrier union’s president Wednesday after he said the president-elect “lied his ass off” about terms of the deal to keep Carrier manufacturing jobs in the United States.
“Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “No wonder companies flee country!”
In a subsequent tweet, Trump slammed the union for not being able to keep the jobs in Indiana initially.
“If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues,” Trump tweeted.
Jones appeared on CNN just before Trump’s tweet. He told CNN anchor Erin Burnett that Trump’s comment “isn’t very damn nice.” He added it “must mean I’m doing a good job” and said Trump “doesn’t like to be challenged.”
Jones later on CNN criticized the president-elect for attacking him instead of admitting he got the numbers wrong.
“I think that’s pretty low-down,” he said.
“Does it bother me? Nah, hell no. I’m still going to be able to sleep tonight and life will go on tomorrow for me.”
Jones said he thinks Trump sent out the tweet because the president-elect doesn’t like to be challenged. He added though that attacking him “isn’t the answer.”
“I didn’t attack him,” Jones said. “I just called him out where I felt like that he misled the people.”
Jones on Tuesday said he was optimistic when Trump first promised to save 1,350 jobs at Carrier’s Indiana plant, The Washington Post reported.
The company had originally planned to move the jobs to Mexico, but decided to keep 730 of the jobs in Indianapolis after receiving $7 million in tax breaks from the state.
Jones told the Post on Tuesday he hoped Trump would explain at a Dec. 1 meeting that 550 of the Carrier jobs weren’t saved.
“But he got up there,” Jones said, “and, for whatever reason, lied his as off.”
Jones on Wednesday reiterated that nobody is mentioning that “550 people are losing their jobs” in an appearance on Burnett’s show “OutFront.”
He said he appreciates Trump “saving as many people’s livelihoods as he did,” but said Trump misled the workers.
“I just wish that he had had the numbers down and he would have been up front with 800 people’s jobs staying here in Indianapolis,” Jones said.
“We had a lot of our members when the word was coming out of 1,100, they thought that they would have a job.”
He later said he hopes the president-elect will make an attempt to see what he could do to save those 550 jobs. He added that everyone has disagreements and he wouldn’t have any problem working with Trump or anybody else to help keep jobs in this country.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana, in March tweeted that he met with Jones and the “hardworking men of Local 1999 about our efforts to save Carrier jobs.”
Trump at a rally last week touted the deal.
“Now they’re keeping — actually the number’s over 1,100 people,” he said, “which is so great.”