Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Spacex Sublease topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents, workers press Long Beach council on SpaceX sublease and environmental, workplace allegations
Summary
Dozens of residents and workers used the council chamber to press elected officials about the city’s sublease with SpaceX, raising allegations about workplace harassment, environmental reporting and insurance lapses and urging the city to review or terminate the agreement.
Multiple speakers at Tuesday’s Long Beach City Council meeting urged elected officials to scrutinize the city’s sublease with SpaceX at the Port of Long Beach and to consider termination or stricter enforcement after allegations of worker harassment, regulatory lapses and environmental concerns were raised publicly.
Several speakers — including workers, clergy and residents — told the council they object to the city’s sublease because of the company’s founder and CEO and said the company’s workplace culture has led to harassment and discrimination claims. "We are not letting you get away with it," said a minister who referenced lawsuits and worker reports and urged the council to take a stand.
Public comments also cited Environmental Protection Agency actions and penalties at other SpaceX sites, alleging unpermitted discharges and Clean Water Act violations. One speaker noted EPA civil penalties and said some reporting to the Port of Long Beach appeared incomplete or late. Another speaker raised insurance lapses found in records, and urged the city to enforce sublease requirements.
Speakers asked the council to review documentation produced through public records requests and to use contract enforcement tools if the tenant had failed to meet obligations. Multiple speakers called for the city to consider living wage and employment protections and to vet tenants in the city’s innovation and startup ecosystem for ties to entities accused of rights abuses.
Council members did not take immediate action on the sublease at the meeting. The public‑comment period was used to call for enforcement or termination steps at future harbor commission or council hearings; one speaker invited residents to the Harbor Commission meeting the following week to press the issue.
The city did not respond with a formal update during the public‑comment portion; council members who spoke later thanked public commenters for raising concerns and said staff would note the testimony.
