Elon Musk And America PAC I ran most of them. Donald Trump campaign‘s ground game MichiganThey are running the classic election strategy of door-to-door canvassers seeking votes from a huge market of people who open their homes to strangers. As rote as the script is, Musk’s approach to electioneering seems the same as his approach to everything else: Mistreatment of workers.

Musk’s America PAC, through a subcontractor called Blitz Canvassing, brought in contractors from outside Michigan to knock on doors for the Trump campaign. Campaign organizers were driven around in seatless U-Haul vans, their housing was threatened if they didn’t meet quotas, and now they’re completely abandoned in Michigan with no way home. wired spoke to pollsters:

(Canvasser Tyra) Muldrow and the rest of the polling group of about a dozen people were fired en masse after WIRED reported that they were tricked and threatened as part of Musk’s effort to get out of the vote. Speaking publicly for the first time about her ordeal, Muldrow said pollsters in her group were fired with little explanation beyond a complaint that someone was talking to the press. Many people, including himself, still owed money. Muldrow had to find her own way home; others are still stranded in Michigan.

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According to Muldrow, the cell was composed entirely of blacks; Strangers from out of state who don’t know each other but are often forced to share rooms. According to a text message from Jones, Muldrow was promised $1.50 per door or $2 per door if he knocked on 1,000 or more doors per week; This was an almost impossible figure. Muldrow also says they were told they would have to pay for accommodation unless they met unrealistic quotas. The contract the knockers signed stated that they were “expected to maintain a 17-22% engagement rate throughout the campaign”; This was a high target compared to the number of people who would usually open their door to a stranger. Videos recorded by Muldrow show cramped living quarters and frequent scuffles between cell members.

Some pollsters were left unpaid after being fired by the Blitz, but Muldrow himself was rescued. He received a $2,000 Cash App payment for his work and then received a message from Blitz telling him to keep him informed. wired he had been paid. One has to wonder what he would have gained if he hadn’t talked to the magazine.

Musk has companies history of worker abusesSo it should come as no surprise that his PAC is working with the same tactic. At least pollsters can rest easy knowing their work is almost done and election season is almost behind them. Unless they get stuck in Michigan afterward.