Union/non-union may not seem like an issue inside SpaceX, but the view from other workers in the industry may not match that. Last month, I was at a 4th of July party which happened to be mostly space workers, and when I brought up the subject of SpaceX the consensus was, 'Cool company. I'd totally work there if the salaries weren't so low.' It surprised me, since I tend to associate up-and-coming companies with money from the Valley with higher salaries.

There are definitely unions in the aerospace industry. My uncle was involved with a strike at United Launch Alliance a few years ago. It's actually the only time I can remember any member of my family going on a picket line.