President-elect Donald Trump singled out United Steelworkers Local 1999 President Chuck Jones in a tweet the other day, blasting him as ineffective after Jones said Trump gave false hope to hundreds of workers by inflating the number of jobs being saved at a Carrier Corp. factory in Indianapolis.
Now a Twitter account bearing Jones' name and likeness has surfaced. The account has tweeted only twice but has more than 22,000 followers and has been retweeted tens of thousands of times.
The problem: Jones says it's not him. He tells the Indy Star he didn't create the account and is hoping to get it taken down.
Trump and Vice President-elect (and Indiana Gov.) Mike Pence celebrated during a Dec. 1 visit to Carrier's Indianapolis factory, saying more than 1,000 had been saved as a result of the incoming administration's negotiating, according to AP coverage.
Jones responded that the number of Carrier jobs actually saved is about 800, while some 550 jobs will still be lost from the factory to Mexico.
The union leader said he sat in the third row of the crowd as Trump announced the deal last week and was 'disgusted' by his use of the 1,100 jobs figure that included some 250 headquarters and engineering staff positions which the company had always said would remain in Indianapolis, the AP reported.
Jones said that gave false hope to employees, even though "I am very grateful, and I've said it numerous times, for him getting involved and saving 800 people's livelihood."
