C.E.O. of Tesla, Chief Engineer of SpaceX and C.T.O. of X Elon Musk speaks throughout the New York Instances annual DealBook summit on November 29, 2023 in New York Metropolis.
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The U.S. Nationwide Labor Relations Board has filed a grievance in opposition to SpaceX, alleging that Elon Musk’s protection contractor illegally fired eight workers after they wrote an open letter important of Musk — and accused the office of being selectively permissive of sexual harassment.
CNBC obtained a replica of the NLRB grievance through a Freedom of Data Act request. The grievance says the eight workers of SpaceX “engaged in concerted actions with different workers for the needs of mutual support or safety by drafting and distributing an open letter” detailing their office issues.
Of their open letter, the SpaceX workers at the moment wrote that Musk’s “conduct within the public sphere is a frequent supply of distraction and embarrassment for us.” They wrote that his divisive posts on social media, in addition to alleged sexual misconduct on his half, went in opposition to SpaceX’s personal “no assholes” and “zero tolerance” insurance policies.
The staff’ open letter was posted internally at SpaceX, after Enterprise Insider reported that Musk had propositioned and uncovered himself to a flight attendant on one of many firm’s non-public jets in 2016, resulting in a sexual harassment declare in opposition to the CEO, which SpaceX reportedly settled for $250,000 in 2018.
Musk has denied the sexual misconduct allegations, calling them “wild accusations.” After the report by Enterprise Insider, SpaceX COO and President Gwynne Shotwell additionally defended Musk in opposition to allegations of sexual harassment.
After the then-SpaceX workers penned the open letter, the NLRB discovered that firm administration engaged in “interrogation” of the authors and “made coercive statements” to them, together with “inviting” the workers to “give up in the event that they disagreed with the conduct of Chief Govt Officer Elon Musk.” Ultimately, the NLRB grievance says, SpaceX illegally fired these workers over the protected speech.
Musk payments himself as a free speech advocate or absolutist. Nevertheless, as CNBC has beforehand reported, his firms have repeatedly sought to stifle others’ speech when it has been important of Musk or his companies. For instance, beneath Musk’s possession, the social community previously referred to as Twitter (now X) has suspended accounts of customers sharing information or remarks important of Musk or his firms, together with software program developer Travis Brown, and Aaron Greenspan, founding father of PlainSite, a web-based database of authorized and public information.
Laurie Burgess, an lawyer representing the SpaceX workers who had been fired after publishing their open letter, informed CNBC her purchasers have additionally filed a proper grievance with the California Civil Rights Division alleging “failure to appropriate sexual harassment at SpaceX.”
SpaceX has important operations and headquarters in Hawthorne, California. SpaceX didn’t reply to requests for remark, and the CRD didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
A spokesperson for the NLRB informed CNBC through electronic mail on Wednesday that the labor company’s Los Angeles regional director issued the consolidated grievance in opposition to SpaceX on Wednesday, after investigating ex-employees’ allegations.
That NLRB regional workplace will now search a settlement between SpaceX and the ex-employees who had been dismissed after talking out. If they do not settle, they are going to proceed to a listening to earlier than an NLRB Administrative Legislation Decide (ALJ) beginning on March 5, 2024 in Los Angeles. Such a choose’s determination is just not essentially ultimate and may very well be appealed to the board of the NLRB and federal appeals courtroom.
Learn the complete grievance from the federal company right here:
