Case 1:24-cv-00001 Document 18 Filed on 01/08/24 in TXSD Page 1 of 6
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`BROWNSVILLE DIVISION
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`Case No. 1:24-cv-00001
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`SPACE EXPLORATION
`TECHNOLOGIES CORP.,
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`Plaintiff,
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`v.
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`NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS
`BOARD, a federal administrative agency,
`JENNIFER ABRUZZO, in her official
`capacity as the General Counsel of the
`National Labor Relations Board, LAUREN
`M. McFERRAN, in her official capacity as
`the Chairman of the National Labor
`Relations Board, MARVIN E. KAPLAN,
`GWYNNE A. WILCOX, and DAVID M.
`PROUTY, in their official capacities as
`Board Members of the National Labor
`Relations Board, and JOHN DOE in his
`official capacity as an Administrative Law
`Judge of the National Labor Relations
`Board,
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`Defendants.
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`DECLARATION OF LAURIE BURGESS IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO INTERVENE
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`2920298.3
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`I, Laurie Burgess, declare as follows:
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`1.
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`I have personal knowledge of the facts herein and, if called upon to testify to
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`those facts, I could and would do so competently.
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`2.
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`I am an attorney licensed to practice law in California. I am a solo practitioner. I
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`also reside in the State of California and practice law exclusively in the State of California. I
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`have never practiced law in Texas.
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`3.
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`I am counsel, along with Anne Shaver of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein,
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`LLP, in NLRB litigation against Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (“SpaceX”) which is
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`currently pending in NLRB Region 31 in Los Angeles, California. Specifically, we filed charges
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`against SpaceX arising out of its unlawful termination of eight employees, our clients, in
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`retaliation for speaking up regarding significant workplace concerns.
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`4.
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`Seven of eight of our clients lived in California and worked at SpaceX’s
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`headquarters in Hawthorne, California, during the entire course of their employment. One of our
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`clients resided in Washington but her management chain worked out of Hawthorne. In addition,
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`because this client’s protected activity of participating in drafting an “Open Letter” seeking
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`redress of workplace concerns occurred in California and her termination was triggered in
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`response to that activity along with the termination of her California colleagues, her NLRB
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`charge was also filed in California, where SpaceX has its headquarters.
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`5.
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`Each of our eight clients provided extensive testimony and documentation to the
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`Region 31 NLRB agents in Los Angeles.
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`6.
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`Our clients Scott Beck, Paige Holland-Thielen, Deborah Lawrence, and Tom
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`Moline are filing declarations herewith that attest to the facts of their employment history and
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`labor dispute with SpaceX demonstrating that their only contact with respect to the NLRB
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`charges and the consolidated case that issued against SpaceX is with the State of California.
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`7.
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`Our remaining four clients are still opting to preserve their anonymity due to fear
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`of online doxing for speaking up against Elon Musk. These four clients filed charges with the
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`NLRB as “Employee A,” “Employee C,” “Employee E,” and “Employee F.”
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`8.
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`Employee A provided sworn testimony to the NLRB that he was employed at
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`SpaceX as an engineer in Hawthorne, California from 2018 to 2022; that he participated in the
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`Open Letter effort in Hawthorne; that he was interrogated by HR Director Lindsay Chapman
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`about his participation in the Open Letter effort in an in-person meeting in Hawthorne on July
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`21, 2022; that he was placed on administrative leave that same day in an in-person conversation
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`in Hawthorne with HR Manager Steven Duarte; and that he was terminated by Ms. Chapman by
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`email on July 22, 2022.
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`9.
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`Employee C provided sworn testimony to the NLRB that she was employed at
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`SpaceX as an engineer in Hawthorne from 2021 to 2022; that she participated in the Open Letter
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`effort in Hawthorne; that she was interrogated by HR Director Lindsay Chapman via virtual
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`meetings attended from Employee C’s home in Los Angeles on July 29 and August 12, 2022;
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`and that she was terminated by HR representative Jordan Schoonover by virtual meeting
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`attended from her home in Los Angeles on August 16, 2022.
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`10.
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`Employee E provided sworn testimony to the NLRB that she was employed at
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`SpaceX as an engineer in Hawthorne from 2017 to 2022; that she participated in the Open Letter
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`effort in Hawthorne; that she was terminated on June 16, 2022 by telephone as she was sitting
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`outdoors on the SpaceX campus in Hawthorne with several co-workers, with Vice President of
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`HR Brian Bjelde, President Gwynn Shotwell, and HR Manager Rebecca Balayan all on the
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`phone line; and that Mr. Bjelde stated she was being fired because she was instrumental in
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`conceiving of, drafting, and distributing the Open Letter.
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`11.
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`Employee F provided sworn testimony to the NLRB that he was employed at
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`SpaceX as an engineer in Hawthorne from 2021 to 2022; that he participated in the Open Letter
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`effort in Hawthorne; that he was interrogated by HR Director Lindsay Chapman about his
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`participation in the Open Letter effort in an in-person meetings in Hawthorne on July 19 and 21,
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`2022; and that he was terminated by Ms. Chapman in an in-person meeting in Hawthorne on July
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`29, 2022.
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`12.
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`None of our clients have any relationship with the State of Texas. None of them
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`have worked there, none of the protected activity that they engaged in occurred there, their
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`terminations did not occur there and no part of the litigation was developed in Texas.
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`13. We received notice from Region 31 on January 3, 2024 that the Region
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`determined that the charges we filed had merit, that it was issuing a 37-count consolidated
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`Complaint against SpaceX, and that the matter is scheduled to proceed to trial in Los Angeles
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`starting March 5, 2024.
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`14.
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`On January 4, 2024, I was contacted by a media outlet asking for comment on
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`SpaceX’s Complaint that was filed earlier that day in Texas. That was the first, and only notice
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`that I have received about this lawsuit.
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`15. We are seeking removal of the SpaceX litigation to California because the
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`underlying NLRB action that SpaceX is challenging was filed and is pending there and none of
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`our clients nor we, as counsel, have any connection whatsoever to the State of Texas.
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`16. We have also filed charges of violations of California state labor law on behalf of
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`all eight clients with California’s Civil Rights Division (“CRD”) based on SpaceX’s failure to
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`remedy the harassment, discrimination and hostile work environment that they experienced on a
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`near daily basis while employed at SpaceX.
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`17.
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`On information and belief, the charges that we filed with the CRD on behalf of
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`our clients will be imminently issuing to complaints. These matters will be litigated in
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`California. It would be burdensome for our clients and for us, as counsel, to litigate these closely
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`related matters in two different states at the same time.
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`18.
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`Not only did all of the core SpaceX misconduct pertaining to both the NLRB
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`charges/Complaint and the CRD charges/Complaints occur in California, we are separately
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`aware that SpaceX required our clients to sign various employment agreements as a condition of
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`employment that requires venue regarding their employment disputes to be adjudicated in
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`California.
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`19.
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`Attached hereto as Exhibit A is the motion to transfer venue to the Central District
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`of California that we would file if permitted leave to intervene.
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`20.
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`Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of SpaceX’s Motion to
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`Intervene in Center for Biological Diversity v. FAA, Case No. 23-cv-001204-CJN (D.D.C. May
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`19, 2023), as well as a true and correct copy of the docket in that case showing that SpaceX’s
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`motion was granted on July 5, 2023.
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`I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the foregoing is
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`true and correct.
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`Executed on the 8th of January, 2024 in San Francisco, California.
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`Case 1:24-cv-00001 Document 18 Filed on 01/08/24 in TXSD Page 6 of 6
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`/s/ Laurie Burgess
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`Laurie Burgess (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`Of Counsel
`Burgess Law Offices, P.C.
`498 Utah Street
`San Francisco, CA 94110
`Phone: (312) 320-1718
`lburgess@burgess-laborlaw.com
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`Counsel for Proposed Intervenors Scott Beck, Paige
`Holland-Thielen, Deborah Lawrence, and Tom Moline
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