Musk Removed X Blue Check Verification on United Auto Workers Due to Strike Against Ford, GM, and MORE

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 15 September 2023, 09:09 pm

United Auto Workers have recently lost their blue check verification despite paying for it on X (previously known as Twitter), a move which was reportedly from Elon Musk. This is amidst the UAW's current strike against the Big Three of the US automobile industry, with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis failing to reach an agreement with the union about their concerns.

Tesla is best known for stopping a union of its workers before, with the report claiming that this might cause a chain reaction for the clean energy company's non-unionized workers.

Musk Removed X Blue Check Verification for UAW

(Photo : OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

The Intercept reported that Elon Musk had stripped away United Auto Workers' paid blue verification checkmark on their platform on X, and this was because of the union's actions in recent times.

However, venturing to the official X account of the union, @UAW, the blue verification checkmark is there. Ryan Grim also claimed that it was put back by Musk.

Reports claimed that previous events have seen UAW lose its verification checkmark, with Grim also stating this but later deleting the post, and this in turn would cause their X account to lose its reach on the internet, effectively narrowing its transmission to the public.

This event transpired after Ford, GM, and Stellantis failed to reach an agreement, with UAW wanting to double the automaker's labor costs.

United Auto Workers Strike: Tesla's Non-Union

Because of the disagreement between the Big Three and UAW, the union force went on a strike earlier today, with as many as 13,000 workers joining.

It was regarded by The Intercept that this petty move from Musk is a way to stop this from going big, especially as it might "trickle down" to Tesla, a company that has thwarted unionization.

Elon Musk's Control Over X

Since Elon Musk bought Twitter from its old management and turned it into a private company with him at the top, massive changes arrived on the platform, including its infamous name change to X. The then-beloved social media saw massive backlash over this change, as before this, it ushered in massive changes to what it has to offer, with many of its features joining its paid subscription.

Apart from the many changes in the social media platform, X also looked forward to establishing FinTech services in the app, a feature that Musk is famously known for from his earlier days in establishing 'X.com,' now PayPal. However, US regulators received a letter from a law firm regarding the personal data handling of its customers, saying that it could not be trusted.

While there are many teams, departments, and executives on X now, it is widely known that Musk has the final say in different issues, topics, and concerns on the platform. The report said that Musk had a petty involvement in the recent UAW's loss of its paid blue verified checkmark because of the union strike, especially as Tesla may be affected should this continue.