SpaceX
US labor agency accuses SpaceX for illegally firing employees
A U.S. Labor Agency has accused space rocket company SpaceX of illegally firing eight employees for circulating a letter about SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk.
The complaint was filed with the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) says that SpaceX violated the worker’s rights secured by federal labor law to speak together for a better working environment.
Specifically, the letter, at the center of this matter, was sent to SpaceX in June 2022 and mentioned Musk’s past tweets/posts on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The employees who sent this letter suggest that Musk’s statement doesn’t follow SpaceX’s policies on “diversity and workplace misconduct”. Therefore, the letter labeled Musk a “distraction and embarrassment” and asked SpaceX to condemn Musk’s statement.
Meanwhile, the labor agency accused SpaceX management of interrogating these employees, threatening to fire and also setting an example for other employees who engage in such activity.
On a further note, if SpaceX doesn’t settle this matter, the case will move to an administrative judge, whose decision can be appealed to the board and then to a federal appeals court. With that being said, a hearing is scheduled for March 5.
NLRB could order these fired employees to be reinstated with their payback at SpaceX.
However, there is one major aspect of the story here, whether the company violated any law to oust these employees. If found, SpaceX could face punishment from the board.
SpaceX has not officially responded to this matter.