Trump, local USW president get in Twitter battle over US jobs

President-elect Donald Trump and a local union are in a Twitter battle.

The tweets started after Trump’s announcement that he saved U.S. jobs at the Carrier plant in Indiana, and United Steelworkers Local 1999 president Chuck Jones challenged Trump’s numbers.

Trump tweeted at USW 1999 and Jones, saying, “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 union responded with their tweet, “I’m with Chuck because as an elected local leader, it’s his job to be honest with his members – same members who thought their jobs were saved.”

Soon, the hashtag, “I’m with Chuck” was trending in the U.S. as other unions joined the fight.

The American Federation of Teachers tweeted, “While Chuck Jones was standing up for Carrier jobs, Donald Trump was buying steel from China.”

In the past, steel from China coming into the U.S. was blamed for layoffs by U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh. Now, the market is showing signs of rebounding.

In addition to the Twitter battle, U.S. Steel chief executive officer Mario Longhi went on CNBC promising a turnaround for the steelworkers.

"I'd be more than happy to bring back the employees that we were forced to lay off during the depressive period,” Longhi said.

When asked how many employees could be rehired, Longhi said, “It could be close to 10,000."

But on Thursday, U.S. Steel released a statement saying the comments were referring to the American steel industry overall -- not just employees of U.S. Steel.

Channel 11 News contacted the local United Steelworkers union representative for comment, but did not hear back.

Cox Media Group