SpaceX
has taken legal action to halt a US National Labor Relations Board hearing following complaints from workers who claim they were terminated for criticizing CEO
Elon Musk
, as reported by news agency AP.
In a complaint filed in a
federal court
in Texas, SpaceX argued that the structure of the regulatory board is unconstitutional and that the hearing process violates the company's right to a jury trial.
The National Labor Relations Board has accused SpaceX of violating labor laws by intimidating workers who wrote the letter and creating a culture of surveillance. The complaint also alleges that SpaceX tried to prevent employees from distributing the open letter and threatened to fire those who participated in organized activities.
Upon complaint, NLRB has requested SpaceX to display employee rights notice for 120 days and apologize to terminated employees.
While the filing did not deny that the workers involved in the case were fired for circulating a letter criticizing Musk's social media behavior, it stated that the "Open Letter" demanded certain actions from SpaceX to address perceived issues and included a survey.
According to the complaint, a small group of SpaceX employees used the company's internal communication platform to share the open letter with thousands of colleagues in June 2022. The letter called on company leadership to address what they considered to be disparaging and inappropriate comments made by Musk on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, now called X.
Following their termination, the employees filed complaints with the NLRB, accusing SpaceX of violating labor laws. The NLRB recently consolidated eight of these complaints, deeming them to have merit. A hearing with an ALJ is scheduled for March 5th, 2024, unless charges are settled.
Seeking to prevent the hearing from taking place, SpaceX has requested a federal court in Texas to intervene and declare the NLRB structure unconstitutional.
English (US) ·