Elon Musk ’s private space speculation is facing yet another unlawful labor practice accusation , this time for allegedly firing employees who were critical of the controversial SpaceX CEO .
The National Labor Relations Board ( NLRB ) file a ill against SpaceX by former employee , claiming that they werefired for their role in distributing an undefended letterthat urged the party to distance itself from the public conduct of its founder .
Thecomplaint , issued on Wednesday , alleges that SpaceX discharged eight employees for their involvement with the open varsity letter and called on others to quit if they disagreed with Musk ’s behavior . The NLRB is an main federal agency coiffure up to enforce labor Torah in the United States , particularly those concerning collective bargaining and unfair labor practices .
In June 2022, an open letter circulated at SpaceX urging the company to distance itself from founder Elon Musk’s social media activities.Photo: Leon Neal (AP)
In theletter , the radical of SpaceX employees describe Musk ’s behavior in the public celestial sphere as a “ frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us . ” The open varsity letter was drafted and delivered to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell ’s desk in June 2022 , nearly a month after a composition by Business Insider claimedMusk had exposed his vertical penisto a former flight attendee at SpaceX and offered to corrupt her a buck in substitution for sexual activity . In response , Muskwroteon X ( which was still Twitter at the time ) that the scandal should be refer to as “ Elongate , ” smartly combining his name and a tidings to delineate an vertical phallus . “ It ’s kinda perfect , ” he added to complete off another one of his outstanding hit on the social media platform .
“ As our CEO and most large spokesperson , Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX — every Tweet that Elon send is a de facto public argument by the company , ” the missive read , shout on the company to “ swiftly and explicitly part itself from Elon ’s personal marque . ”
“ It is critical to make decipherable to our team and to our potential talent pool that his electronic messaging does not reflect our work , our mission , or our values , ” the mathematical group of employees wrote in the letter . The letter further advocated the company adhere to its “ no - asshole ” and “ zero margin ” policy by making sure there are way for employees to report bad behavior and penalize those responsible for a bad working environs , “ whether from the chief operating officer or an employee start their first daytime . ”
The NLRB complaint claims that the employee were fired now after the letter of the alphabet was shell out , and that SpaceX question , surveilled and threatened workers as a result of it . The complaint take that the employee were fired for activity that are protected under the National Labor Relations Act .
A hearing on the complaint is schedule for March 5 before an administrative jurisprudence judge of the NLRB .
This is n’t the first time SpaceX has come under flak for its treatment of employee . In August 2023 , the Department of Justice file a lawsuitclaiming that SpaceX routinely discouragedrefugees and asylees from practice for open place at the company . SpaceX later won a court order toblock the lawsuit . In October 2023 , aformer SpaceX employee filed a lawsuitagainst the troupe say that women and minorities are paid less than their white male counterparts .
Want to have a go at it more about Elon Musk ’s quad venture ? Check out our full reporting ofSpaceX ’s Starship megarocketand theSpaceX Starlink cyberspace orbiter megaconstellation . And for more space travel in your spirit , follow us onXand bookmark Gizmodo ’s dedicatedSpaceflight page .
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