Thursday, April 16, 2026

ANNALS OF TRUMPI$TAN: Sens. Warren and Blumenthal investigate NLRB decision to drop charges against SpaceX for retaliatory (Lora Kolodny, CNBC, April 16, 2026)

Too many retaliatory managers in aerospace industry get away with retaliation, with deadly results.  Fourteen (14) astronauts died preventable deaths amidst a hostile working environment that retaliates against ethical employees. Fun fact: I was honored to be counsel NASA Johnson Space Center environmental whistleblowers.  Read my February 20, 2003. St. Augustine Record column, published after the second Space Shuttle disaster. 

From CNBC. 


TECH

Sens. Warren and Blumenthal investigate NLRB decision to drop charges against SpaceX for retaliatory firings

Lora Kolodny@IN/LORAKOLODNY/
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KEY POINTS
  • Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are investigating the National Labor Relations Board after it dropped charges against Elon Musk’s SpaceX in February over retaliatory firings. 
  • Previously, the labor agency charged SpaceX with illegally firing workers who had criticized Musk and the company for alleged sexist conduct and a culture of sexual harassment. 
  • NLRB dismissed the case citing lack of jurisdictional authority, but the senators want proof that the agency followed the law, considered facts and did not make the decision to please a Trump ally.
KYIV, UKRAINE - AUGUST 23, 2023 - US Senators Richard Blumenthal (L) and Elizabeth Warren are pictured during a briefing while on a visit to Ukraine, Kyiv, capital of Ukraine. NO USE RUSSIA. NO USE BELARUS. (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
US Senators Richard Blumenthal (L) and Elizabeth Warren.
Nurphoto | Getty Images

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., initiated an investigation into the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday concerning the agency’s decision to drop charges against Elon Musk’s SpaceX over retaliatory firings, according to correspondence first obtained by CNBC.

SpaceX is reportedly seeking to go public in June and eyeing a $2 trillion valuation.

Under the Biden administration, the NLRB had charged the aerospace and defense firm with illegally firing employees in retaliation for criticism of Musk in an open letter in which they alleged sexist conduct on his part, and a wider culture of sexual harassment at SpaceX.

The NLRB dismissed those charges citing jurisdictional issues in February. 

Warren and Blumenthal have demanded information and records from the NLRB according to correspondence first obtained by CNBC, seeking to determine if the agency dropped the charges based on “political considerations rather than the facts at hand,” effectively bowing to the wishes of Musk, who spent around $300 million to propel President Trump back to the White House.

When the NLRB dismissed their charges against SpaceX earlier this year, they said the company should be regulated under the Railway Labor Act, which governs labor relations at railroad and airline companies, and punted the employees’ complaints to the National Mediation Board.

In their letter to NLRB, which was dated April 15, Warren and Blumenthal wrote, “In facilitating this change of agency, the NLRB was effectively killing the case: these workers’ wrongful termination charges cannot proceed at the NMB because the NMB’s governing law does not protect the same kinds of concerted activities as the NLRB’s does.” 

They also said that part of NMB’s claim of jurisdictional authority over SpaceX included an “absurd” argument that SpaceX is a “carrier by air transporting mail for or under contract with the United States Government” because SpaceX has sometimes delivered mail to the International Space Station for NASA. 

The senators have asked the NLRB to provide, among other things, information and records by April 29 explaining the reasons they changed their position in regard to jurisdiction, and to provide a list of all communications that took place between the agency and Musk or his representatives, and precedent, if any, for counting a rocket company like SpaceX as a mail carrier by air. 

In 2024, SpaceX filed a federal lawsuit arguing the NLRB’s structure violated the Constitution and that the agency should not be allowed to take enforcement action pertaining to worker complaints of unfair treatment by employers. That suit came after nine SpaceX workers said they were terminated for sending their open letter to management.

Musk has clashed with union proponents for years, including at his automotive business, Tesla. The NLRB decided in 2021 that Tesla and Musk had violated labor laws when they fired a union activist, and when Musk wrote on Twitter in 2018: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?”

CNBC has reached out to the NLRB and SpaceX for comment.


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Ed Slavin for Mosquito Control Board: My response to WJXT (News4Jax questions)

My response to WJXT (News4Jax) questions re: my candidacy for Anastasia Mosquito Control Board of St. Johns County: 

Ed Slavin

Occupation: Retired

Age: 67

Family: My parents, the late Ed and Mary Slavin, helped organize unions. Dad survived malaria in WWII (South Jersey Chapter of 82nd ABN DIVN ASSN named “CPL Edward A. Slavin Chapter” in his honor). My father got malaria in Sicily WWII as an 82nd ABN DIVN paratrooper. My parents taught me, as JFK’s parents taught him, that you have to stand up to people with power or they walk all over you. When AMCD bought a no-bid luxury $1.8 million Bell luxury jet helicopter in 2006, I counted on my mom’s advice as a former purchasing secretary at Camden County College in South Jersey. Our Mosquito Control District got a full refund of our deposit and we learned a valuable lesson about the need for frugality and competitive bidding.

Education: B.S.F.S., Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. J.D., Memphis State University Law School (now University of Memphis).

Political experience: Your watchdog, called an “environmental hero” by Folio Weekly. 

What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them?

Advancing research and education while protecting scientific integrity and free speech rights; safeguarding the independence of AMCD as an independent scientific and technical organization; protecting public health, the environment and wisely spending public funds. How? Asking questions and encouraging open, honest transparent government. 

How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot? 

Long experience as a watchdog of mosquito control and environmental protection here in St. Johns County, including helping persuade AMCD Commissioners to vote 5-0 in 2007 to cancel contract for illegal, no-bid $1.8 million purchase of a luxury jet helicopter, resulting in a full refund. Longtime advocate for government accountability and protection of worker and citizen rights.

What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office? 

Inspiring better informed decisionmaking on spending and on environmental, safety, health and scientific issues.

Campaign website: edslavin.com

Campaign social media: None given

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Ed Slavin response to Sierra Club on Anastasia Mosquito Control of St. Johns County Commission (2024)

Here's my response to the March 2024 Sierra Club questionnaire re: Mosquito  Control Commission;


Good evening:
Thank you for your patience!  Excellent questions. 


Questionnaire to Candidates for St. Johns County 
County Commission 2024

Please provide answers to the following questions below, or on a separate sheet:

1. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being the least important and 10 being the most important), where do
environmental issues rate when compared to other critical issues facing St. Johns County and
Northeast Florida? Please include a brief explanation of your rating.

Most important: 10.  Our frail planet, our city, county, state and nation are all threatened by pollution and climate change. Overdevelopment is destroying our quality of life.

2. What are the most significant environmental issues and challenges in St. Johns County? 

* Proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore deserves our County's support.  First proposed by the Mayor of St. Augustine, Walter Fraser, both U.S. Senators and our Congressman in 1939, this is an idea whose time has come.  https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2023/10/support-st-augustine-national.html
* Developers demanding to be free of fair impact fees.  

* Secretive PACs and campaign contributions, corruption and conflict of interest. Corruption, as Al Gore wrote in 1992, in Earth in the Balance, often leads to environmental devastation.  

* Proposed 25 ideas for local government reform in 2022, one (1) heeded (County Sheriff body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras, long opposed by Sheriff David Shoar). County Commission has STILL not responded to 25 suggestions on government reform. Why not?




+ Support meritocracy amidst one-party rule by mediocrities in St. Johns County Commission





3. What actions have you taken in the past to demonstrate your concern or interest regarding our environment?
 

  2. Helping end pelagic whaling of endangered sperm whales by promoting development of jojoba oil seed crops, an exact duplicate for the oil of the sperm whale. The market system worked. (Working as intern and staffer for Senator Ted Kennedy, 1974-76).  
  3. Helping defeat coal slurry pipeline eminent domain legislation in U.S House of Representatives, helping preserve and protect precious scarce water from Madison Formation aquifer.  (11,500 word Crossroads Magazine (formerly Coal Patrol) investigative article, inserted into Congressional Record by U.S. Rep. Joe Skubitz, Republican of Kansas, except for parts on campaign finance).  July 19, 1978: House Defeated Coal Slurry Pipeline Eminent Domain Legislation



  4. Exposing U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority purchasing and policies that encouraged steep slope strip-mining, corruption, coal quality fraud, antitrust violations and and conflicts of interest. With support from Fund for Investigative Journalism, helped secure GAO investigation verifying  concerns of Appalachian activists, led by Save Our Cumberland Mountains.  TVA's Coal Procurement Practices--More Effective Management Needed



  5. Winning declassification of world's largest mercury pollution event (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) and testifying about it in Congressional investigation.  July 11, 1983: Al Gore's Mercury Pollution Hearing in Oak Ridge, Tennessee -- Largest Mercury Pollution Event in World History (4.2 Million Pounds). 



  6. Security clearance reforms protecting environmental, nuclear anjd other whistleblowers, and LGBTQ, people working for federal agencies and government contractors.  Helped win American Bar Association House of Delegates vote in February 1990, endorsing security clearance reforms that were implemented under President Clinton, halting a proposed Bush Executive Order that would have erased rights to fair hearings and due process.
  7. Environmental whistleblower law victories and precedents at U.S.Department of Labor, including landmark whistleblower case protecting federal environmental crimes investigators against retaliation for recusals or refusing to coverup wrongdoing.  FBI, HUD, EPA Senior Special Agent Robert E. Tyndall (Ret.), R.I.P.



  8. Exposed intimidation of nuclear weapons plant whistleblowers. February 5, 1992



  9. Questioned aerial pesticide spraying program and winning reversal of illegal, no-bid SJC Mosquito Control Board purchase of $1.8 million luxury Bell Jet helicopter unadorned by nozzles, tanks, pilots, hangar or any plans for aerial spraying, winning 100% refund of deposit.
  10. Defeat of multiple unwise development projects in St. Augustine and St. Johns County,
  11. Adoption of employee whistleblower policy and sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies for Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County. 
  12. Successfully reported City of St. Augustine illegally dumping a landfill in a lake to National Response Center, resulting in fines and consent decree, after City Manager William B. Harriss had said he would not agree to put the contaminated solid waste in a Class I landfill without a court order.  2008 Folio Weekly cover story by Anne Schindler called me an "environmental hero."
  13. Reported City of St. Augustine illegal sewage pollution to National Response Center, resulting in fines and consent decree.
  14. Helped elect Nancy Shaver as in St. Augustine Mayor and Krista Keating-Joseph as County Commissioner, defeating pro-developer incumbents. 
  15. Helping secure preservation of historic iconic Fish Island as city park with state funds, rejecting proposed ruinous development by D.R. Horton, with fifty (50) witnesses, including former St. Augustine Beach Mayor Sherman Gary Snodgrass.




4. What organizations do you belong to? 

1000 Friends of Florida
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Democratic Party
St. Augustine Historical Society
Fort Mose Historic Society
Florida Historical Society
Sierra Club
Investigative Reporters and Editors  
American Assn. For Advancement of Science  
Florida Adventures in Railroading
WJCT

5. What is your position and suggested solution on these key issues affecting our county?   
- Climate change and sea level rise
+ Support federal, state and local legislation to preserve and protect us from carbon and methane pollution, protect our coasts and wetlands, promote biodiversity, restore balance,
+ Support County's acceptance of federal grants on climate change. 
+ Oppose Florida Governors' attacks on environmental protection, with frequent blog posts.
www,cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
+ Support a St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore. Spoke to every St. Johns County Legislative Delegation meeting since 2006 on National Park and Seashore.


- Growth management and development
+ Strongly support reform of our Land Development Code as we know it.  
+ We must have fair hearings, with full disclosures, lobbyist registration, expert testimony, cross-examination of all witnesses and background investigations of developers.  
+ Are our current local and state procedures are a honky-tonk medley of "regulatory capture," farce and kabuki dance?
+ James Madison wrote, "A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. "
+ Affordable housing: we must reject "snob zoning," and allow duplexes and other auziliary dwellling units, preserving land and advancing affordable housing. 
+ We must adopt a Public Housing Agency.
+ We must comply with Fair Housing Act.
+ Let's start by re-writing our LDC and quasi-judicial hearing procedures.
+ For transparency, Commissioners must never meet with zoning applicants ex parte.  
+ St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver refused such meetings during her 1550 days as Mayor (making an exception when an applicant was allegedly being treated unfairly).
+ What kind of administrative judicial system lets zoning applicants meet secretly with elected officials?
+  Reject this corrupt system and will not be embroiled by it. 
+ We must require fuller corporate disclosure and better data. 
+ Require background investigations on zoning applicants -- know your customer! 
+ Are any zoning applicants involved in money-laundering,  
+ Environmental violations by zoning applicants must be researched by County staff and discussed publly in hearings.
+ We need full information on ex parte contacts with Commissioners, disclosed before hearings.
+ All ex parte meetings with Commissioners and staff must be videotaped and made a public record.  
+ As Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Secrey is for losers, for people who don't understand the value of the information.


- Trees and the proposed 14 point tree ordinance
+ Support proposed tree protection ordinance and spoke in favor of it, as did dozens of residents.  
+ I objected to four Commissioners' harsh response to First Amendment protected activity, evident retaliation against reform Commissioner Krista Joseph..

- Management of traffic and infrastructure
+ Support transit, impact fees and reform of zoning and planning as we know it.

- Septic tanks
+ Explore ban on new septic tanks in new construction
+ Monitor septic tank inspections and code enforcement.




6. What is your motivation for running to be a County Commissioner?
+ My first American ancestor escaped the British government-caused Irish potato famine in 1849, immigrating to Philadelphia with Irish neighbors at age six, the rest of her family died in famine.  My father taught me, as JFK's father taught him, that "if you don't stand up to people in power, they walk all over you."   JFK was killed 22 days after I proudly wore a JFK costume on Halloween, at age six. At age 17.5, I went to work for his brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy, the day before my first Georgetown class, inspired after hearing Ralph Nader speak on August 28, 1974 (Feast of St. Augustine).   
Love this magical place. We need to preserve what we know and love, with National Park Service help.  http://www.staugustgreen.com 
Moved here November 5, 1999, after falling in love with St. Augustine when we visited in August 1992, right after first environmental whistleblower trial against Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  
Faster than a speeding dump truck, what we love about St. Johns County is being destroyed. 



7. If you are elected or re-elected, what initiatives would you introduce or promote to protect the environment of St. Johns County?
* St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore
* Environmental Regulatory Commission.
* Independent environmental impact statements for government project, as under NEPA.
* Lobbyist registration and background investigations.
* Video of every County Commissioner "ex parte' meeting with putative "developers."
* County whistleblower protection ordinance
* Reform zoning and planning as we know it. 

Thank you. 
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
www.edslavin.com
(904) 377-4998


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