CALIFORNIA

Sean Penn’s CORE group faces labor charges over impassioned internal email

BY HAYLEY SMITHSTAFF WRITER
OCT. 29, 2021 1:27 PM PT

The National Labor Relations Board has filed a formal complaint against actor Sean Penn’s nonprofit disaster response organization over claims that Penn implicitly threatened employees who criticized conditions at a Dodger Stadium COVID-19 vaccination site.

The lawyer who brought the charges said an internal email from Penn to his employees amounted to coercive conduct that could negatively affect young workers. Lawyers for the Oscar-winning actor are insisting that the claims are frivolous and without merit and are calling for their dismissal.

Penn’s nonprofit group, Community Organized Relief Effort, or CORE, assisted the city of Los Angeles at the mass vaccination site in January, earning praise for taking action during a critical moment in the pandemic when the city was transitioning from testing to vaccination.

But Penn and CORE quickly came under scrutiny after two anonymous commenters left disparaging remarks on a New York Times message board about the working hours and food provisions at the site. ... The comments spurred Penn to write an impassioned, 2,200-word email in which he chastised the commenters.

“And to whoever authored these, understand that in every cell of my body is a vitriol for the way your actions reflect so harmfully upon your brothers and sisters in arms,” Penn wrote in the email, which was promptly leaked to The Times. “I have taken counsel and here will refrain from using the words with which I would otherwise choose to describe the character of your actions.”

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