SpaceX accused of unlawfully firing employees who were critical of Elon Musk
A U.S. labor agency has accused SpaceX of unlawfully firing employees who penned an open letter critical of CEO Elon Musk and creating an impression that worker activities were under surveillance by the rocket ship company
NEW YORK — A U.S. labor agency has accused SpaceX of unlawfully firing employees who penned an open letter critical of CEO Elon Musk and creating an impression that worker activities were under surveillance by the rocket ship company.
A Los Angeles-based regional director for the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday filed a complaint that consolidates eight unfair labor practice charges against SpaceX. The cases stem from the company's alleged actions following the circulation of the employees' letter back in June 2022.
The letter, among other workplace concerns, called on executives to condemn Musk’s public behavior on X — the platform then-known as Twitter — and hold everyone accountable for unacceptable conduct. Musk's actions included making light of sexual harassment allegations against him, which the billionaire denied.
“As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX — every tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company,” the open letter said at the time. The letter also referred to Musk's actions as a ”frequent source of distraction and embarrassment."
A total of nine employees were soon terminated for their involvement in the letter, according to a November 2022 filing made on behalf of one of the employees to the NLRB.
In addition to the firings, Wednesday's complaint (which again covers eight cases) accuses SpaceX of interrogating other workers about the letter, announcing that employees were terminated for their participation in
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