Elon Musk's PAC fired and quit canvassers in Michigan who raised concerns: report

Researchers from Elon Musk’s America PAC say they flew to Michigan and were told they had to meet unattainable quotas or risk paying for their own accommodations and traveling home. They were then unceremoniously fired after some of them spoke to the press.

The workers – many of whom are black – told Wired that Blitz Canvassing, a subcontractor to Musk’s PAC, had them sign non-disclosure agreements and transported them to Michigan neighborhoods in the back of a U-Haul without seats or seat belts. After Wired A first story about their working conditions, the subcontractor’s magazine reported fired more than a dozen canvassersleaving some without full compensation or transportation home.

One door knocker told the magazine they didn’t know what they were signing up for. “I knew nothing about the position, or much of the job description, other than going door to door asking voters who they were voting for,” the unidentified employee said. “Then, after I signed a non-disclosure agreement, I discovered that we are pro-Republican and pro-Trump.”

The employee also said they were unaware of the billionaire’s involvement until they “heard my supervisor and a few others mention Elon Musk.”

According to Wired, Trump’s campaign is relying on Musk and his PAC to lead the door-to-door efforts in the battleground state, but it appears the X-owner operation is sloppy at best. Canvassers said they initially took Ubers to neighborhoods where they spoke to voters, but were later transported unsafely in the back of a U-Haul van without seats or seat belts. Organizers told participants they had to use a glitchy app to record their progress, even though the app known for inaccurately flagging false door knocks.

“Our subcontractors should never have driven their recruiting staff in a U-Haul van and those involved were immediately reprimanded,” said Tim Pollard of Blitz Canvassing. Wired.

More than a dozen employees were fired after the magazine’s story about the hiring mishaps broke. Wired reported, leaving some in Michigan without full wages or transportation home. This is evident from emails obtained by the publication, canvassers were promised $2,000 per week in compensation and a round-trip plane ticket. They were also told they would earn $1.50 per door knocked, text messages showed, and that rate would increase to $2 per door if they reached more than 1,000 doors per week — an unattainable number.

“I have an eerie feeling that I have to get out of there,” Florida resident Tyra Muldrow, a 20-year-old black woman, told the publication. Muldrow, who had to find her own way home, said she and other campaigners were told they had been fired because some of them had spoken to the media.

Muldrow said the group of canvassers she worked with consisted of Black people from out of state. Muldrow provided videos Wired which showed that accommodation was cramped and that there were disagreements among the workers.

Muldrow found out that she and others had been fired through a GroupMe chat from her cousin, Ebony Jones, who recruited her for the job. “Everyone is fired,” Jones wrote in the chat. According to Muldrow, Jones then began asking the workers to talk to the media.

At least four canvassers, including Muldrow, said they were not compensated for their work before they were fired. Muldrow showed it Wired that she initially only received $69 through Cash App “for Gotv” – a reference to the voting efforts.

“After the incident, some of the canvassers and contractors involved left the program, some decided to stay, all have been paid,” Pollard said. Wired, although the publication could not confirm the accuracy of his statement.

Muldrow eventually received $2,000 via Cash App with the note: “For Michigan Gotv 742 doors paid in full.”

Shortly after that payment, Jones texted her: “Let the wire know you’ve been paid ASAP.”

More from Rolling Stone

The best of Rolling Stone