Late payments seem to be a recurring theme among Musk-backed knockers. A Michigan pollster was only paid after WIRED contacted his manager and America PAC for comment. The former Arizona door-knocker with Liberty Staffing Services, which along with America PAC is a co-defendant in a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of California labor law first reported by WIRED, shared screenshots showing they filed complaints about payments repeated delays before finally quitting. The same Arizona surveyor also took out payday loans to make ends meet between payments, according to a bank statement reviewed by WIRED.
They also remember being told by their manager to drive around the rest of their unit despite having flu-like symptoms after the job led them to spend up to 12 hours a day in the desert heat.
“One day I was sick and I felt like shit,” alleges the former knocker. “I got in the car and the boss came out and saw me. “I looked like a zombie.” Still, they continued to pound the pavement, decked out in American PAC merchandise and spewing pro-Trump literature.
Pollsters from another unit, run by the Hispanic Leadership Alliance, which received $100,000 from Crow earlier this year and $825,000 last month from Musk, recall similar claims.
An out-of-state door knocker with HLA claims his quota was to reach 200 doors a day under the scorching sun, a total difficult to achieve even in more bearable weather conditions.
Several of the door-knockers say they were confused about the exact nature of the outsourcing deals they had, but quickly began to realize it was all related to the billionaire.
“This is supposed to be up to Hispanic leadership,” one door-knocker tells WIRED, “but (we were) pushing for América PAC with Elon Musk as well. So it’s all the same.”
“Technically we were employees of Liberty Staffing,” says the first knocker at the door, who has since left and shared his offer letter under Liberty letterhead. Like the door-knocking unit in Michigan along with others across the country, these canvassers had to contend with the Campaign Sidekick app, the mobile software of choice for Musk’s get-out-the-vote effort.
Representatives from America PAC, Liberty Staffing Services, the Hispanic Leadership Alliance and an attorney for Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
However, the former knocker says, they were surprised to find an additional level of security in what they described as “physical auditors.”
They were told to expect to occasionally see someone driving to make sure they were actually knocking on doors and not, as WIRED previously reported and other Departuresplaying with the app to reach the quotas without having to wait at the door.
Apparently the only notable difference between the various subcontractors and partners comes down to the dress code.
An onboarding email obtained by WIRED shows that HLA canvassers were asked to wear shorts “no shorter than three fingers above the knee,” while Liberty’s door knocker said they had some room for maneuver.
After so many days in the heat and with completely sweaty shirts, it was time to look for an alternative.
“They gave us these USA PAC T-shirts and little badges on lanyards, but they weren’t very strict about it,” the Liberty door knocker said. “I only had a couple of shirts, they got dirty and you don’t want to smell like shit at work.”
