May 2, 2018 VIA FACSIMILE [(215) ] & FEDERAL EXPRESS

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1 ATTORNEYS AT LAW 1 Main Street, Seventh Floor White Plains, New York 01 Tel. 1-1 Fax 1-1 Writer s lmiddlebrook@ssmplaw.com May, 01 VIA FACSIMILE [(1 -] & FEDERAL EXPRESS Dennis P. Walsh Regional Director, Region National Labor Relations Board 1 Chestnut Street, th Floor Philadelphia, PA 1-0 Re: CHARGE AGAINST EMPLOYER ZUFFA, LLC Dear Regional Director Walsh: Attached please find FORM NLRB-01 (Charge Against Employer along with its supporting attachments filed on behalf of Leslie Smith against ZUFFA, LLC, d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any additional information. Sincerely, Lucas K. Middlebrook, Esq. Cc: Leslie Smith Nick Granath, Esq., Seham, Seham, Meltz & Petersen, LLP

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3 Lucas K. Middlebrook, Esq. Nicholas P. Granath, Esq. SEHAM, SEHAM, MELTZ & PETERSEN, LLP 1 Main Street, Seventh Floor White Plains, NY 01 Tel: 1-1; Fax: 1-1 ZUFFA, LLC d/b/a, Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC -and- Leslie Smith I. INTRODUCTION BEFORE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD * * * UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE CHARGE AGAINST EMPLOYER 1 Leslie Smith was the most vocal proponent of the need for her fighter co-workers in the UFC to organize and bargain collectively in order to ameliorate the terms and conditions of employment. She was, during all relevant times, the president of an Association, Project Spearhead, which has been soliciting authorization cards from UFC fighters since February of this year. The UFC was desperate to rid itself of one of the only fighters on its roster willing to speak loudly about the benefits of unionizing while actively organizing her colleagues. The UFC, blinded by its sheer arrogance and utter disregard for its fighters Section rights, effectively terminated Ms. Smith s employment on April 0, 01. The UFC s decision to terminate Ms. Smith was based on the animus it held toward her engagement in protected activity. -1-

4 II. PARTIES The charging party, Ms. Leslie Smith (hereinafter Ms. Smith, was, pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act ( NLRA or Act, a statutory employee of ZUFFA, LLC, d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship (hereinafter ZUFFA or UFC. Ms. Smith was employed by ZUFFA as a professional mixed martial artist in the women s bantamweight division beginning on or around April 01 and continuing until April 0, 01, at which point ZUFFA took unlawful adverse action(s against Ms. Smith. Ms. Smith, at the time of termination, was ranked ninth ( th in the world in the women s bantamweight division. Ms. Smith had been declared the winner in three ( of her last four ( fights with ZUFFA prior to her termination with the only loss coming to the current women s featherweight (1 pounds champion, Cris Cyborg, who is considered to be the best female mixed martial artist in the world. The charged party, ZUFFA, is a Nevada limited liability corporation, which operates and does business under the name Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC. ZUFFA is the largest mixed martial arts ( MMA promotion in the world, and produces MMA fighting events worldwide. ZUFFA is a statutory employer under the NLRA of the MMA fighters that compete within its promotion 1, and as such, employed Ms. Smith from on or about April 01 until she was unlawfully terminated in April ZUFFA misclassifies its fighter employees as independent contractors. However, Ms. Smith is confident that ZUFFA will be unable to carry its burden of proving she (and other similarly situated UFC fighters are not entitled to the protection of the Act on the grounds that they are independent contractors. Moreover, depending on the outcome of the Board s decision in Velox Express, Inc., 1-CA-100, ZUFFA s misclassification of its fighter employees may, in and of itself, constitute a violation of the Act thereby necessitating the filing of an additional or amended charge. --

5 III. MS. SMITH ENGAGED IN CONCERTED PROTECTED ACTIVITY. On or about February, 01, Ms. Smith launched a union organizing drive named Project Spearhead, intended to collect authorization cards from a minimum of thirty percent (0% of the professional MMA fighters employed by ZUFFA. In so doing, Ms. Smith launched a website: which was (and is accessible to public review. The Project Spearhead website, at all relevant times, plainly stated the Association s intended purpose as follows: Ms. Smith was (and is the Interim President for Project Spearhead and this is set forth on the Project Spearhead website and accessible to public review. Ms. Smith maintains and operates social media accounts on recognized social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Ms. Smith s Twitter account (i.e., handle On or about February 1, 01, Ms. Smith posted the following message on her publicly-accessible Twitter account: --

6 Ms. Smith s launch of Project Spearhead and her efforts to organize her fighting colleagues was covered in numerous media publications; including but not limited to, print, audio and video coverage across multiple platforms beginning on or about February 1, 01 and continuing to and through the date of this filing. On or about February, 01, Ms. Smith commenced an aggressive social media organizing campaign. Ms. Smith used her public social media platforms, such as 1 Twitter, to request that her fighter colleagues complete and submit Project Spearhead 1 authorization cards. Ms. Smith would send a similar message to each potential 1 1 bargaining unit member and tag the individual by including that fighter s Twitter handle at conclusion of the message: Ms. Smith sent approximately three hundred fifty (0 public tweets identical (with the only difference being the name of the tagged fighter coworker to the one shown in Paragraph above beginning on or about February, 01 and continuing through March 01 to her fighter colleagues employed by ZUFFA in an effort to collect the --

7 requisite amount of authorization cards to file with the National Labor Relations Board. ( NLRB or Board. Ms. Smith also engaged in direct face-to-face and voice-to-voice protected union organizing activity with her fighter colleagues following the launch of Project Spearhead in February 01 and continuing to and through the date of this filing. 1 Ms. Smith was involved in an active union organizing campaign at the time she was terminated by ZUFFA on or about April 0, 01. Ms. Smith, aside from her role as President of Project Spearhead, was the most publicly vocal proponent of the need for her fellow ZUFFA-employed fighters to submit authorization cards and unionize. Ms. Smith was unquestionably engaged in protected activity as that term is construed under Section of the NLRA. Ms. Smith was publicly active in the exercise of her rights under the Act to effectively communicate with her co-workers regarding selforganization. IV. ZUFFA WAS AWARE OF MS. SMITH S PROTECTED ACTIVTY 1 On or about December, 01, Ms. Smith sent correspondence to ZUFFA, which requested a meeting to clarify the effect of ZUFFA s UFC Promotional Guidelines, which were unilaterally amended and issued by ZUFFA to its fighter employees in December Mr. Reed Harris, ZUFFA s Vice-President of Athlete Development, advised Ms. Smith he would be available to meet on or around December, 01. Mr. Reed requested that Ms. Smith provide her questions regarding the Promotional Guidelines in advance of any meeting. On or about December, 01, Ms. Smith sent a list of questions to --

8 Mr. Reed and travelled to Mr. Reed s office in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately, Mr. Reed failed to honor the scheduled meeting despite Ms. Smith having prepared and sent her questions in advance and traveled, in person, to his office. 1 On or about January, 01, Ms. Smith received correspondence from ZUFFA s Chief Legal Officer, WM. Hunter Campbell (hereinafter Mr. Campbell, which advised Ms. Smith as follows: Ms. Smith, Reed Harris was kind enough to pass along your document of questions as it concerns the promotional guidelines. Rather than delve into each question on an individual basis, I d be happy to meet with you in person to discuss. Please let me know your availability. 1 Ms. Smith made multiple attempts to accept Mr. Campbell s invitation to meet in person to discuss her questions as it related to the Promotional Guidelines. However, a meeting between Ms. Smith and Mr. Campbell never materialized due, in large part, to Mr. Campbell s unavailability. 1 On January, 01, Ms. Smith sent a follow-up to Mr. Campbell, which explained she still sought to have a meeting to discuss the unilaterally implemented Promotional Guidelines, but her correspondence went unanswered and no meeting was ever held to discuss Ms. Smith s concerns. 1 ZUFFA was aware that Ms. Smith engaged in concerted and protected activity through the direct correspondence referenced in Paragraphs 1-1 herein. In addition, and as set forth in Paragraphs - herein, Ms. Smith s position as President of Project Spearhead and her efforts to unionize her fighting coworkers at ZUFFA was covered widely by --

9 MMA media outlets and through social media. Therefore, it would strain credulity for ZUFFA to allege it was unaware of Ms. Smith s protected activity. 1 On or about April 1, 01, Ms. Smith sent ZUFFA representatives pictures of the mouthguard she planned to utilize for her April 1, 01 bout. The mouthguard contained the words: Project Spearhead as well as the Association s logo. Fighter mouthguards are typically visible immediately before, during and after a fighter s bout and can be seen by the television and/or streaming media audience. ZUFFA was aware Ms. Smith intended to utilize a Project Spearhead mouthguard less than forty-eight ( hours before ZUFFA took adverse action against her. V. ZUFFA TOOK ADVERSE ACTION AGAINST MS. SMITH AND ZUFFA S ANIMUS TOWARDS HER PROTECTED ACTIVITY WAS A SUBSTANTIAL OR MOTIVATING REASON FOR THE ACTION. 0 Ms. Smith was scheduled to fight on April 1, 01 at UFC Fight Night 1 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Ms. Smith s April 1 bout represented the last remaining fight covered by her Promotional and Ancillary Rights Agreement (hereinafter Promotional Agreement with ZUFFA. The scheduled fight was also subject to a bout agreement with ZUFFA, which required Ms. Smith to be paid an amount of money, which represented her purse (show money and an additional amount of money in the form of a win bonus (win money. The bout agreement provided that the win bonus was to be paid if and only if Ms. Smith was declared the winner of the Bout pursuant to the rules and regulations of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. 1 The bout agreement required Ms. Smith and her opponent to weigh one hundred thirtyfive (1 pounds in accordance with the weigh-in procedures set forth by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. --

10 On April 0, 01, Ms. Smith weighed in within the permissible limits to satisfy the one hundred thirty-five (1 pound requirement. However, Ms. Smith s opponent weighed in at 1. pounds, which was outside of the permissible limits. At this point, Ms. Smith was under no contractual or regulatory requirement to continue with the bout against the opponent who failed to make weight. On the morning of April 0, 01, Ms. Smith engaged in discussions with ZUFFA regarding the possibility of adding two ( additional fights to her existing Promotional Agreement if ZUFFA wanted her to participate in the April 1 bout against the heavier opponent that failed to make weight. ZUFFA, primarily through its Chief Legal Officer, Mr. Campbell, refused to entertain Ms. Smith s request to add two ( fights to her Promotional Agreement. Instead, ZUFFA advised Ms. Smith, in writing from Mr. Campbell, that it had unilaterally decided to compensate Ms. Smith by paying both her show and win bonus for this bout. ZUFFA, through Mr. Campbell, also informed Ms. Smith, in writing, of its position that the unilateral decision to pay the show and win bonuses fully satisfied its contractual obligations remaining under her Promotional Agreement. ZUFFA, with this written pronouncement, effectively discharged Ms. Smith from her employment. Ms. Smith never agreed to accept the show and win bonuses as a quid pro quo for full satisfaction of ZUFFA s contractual obligations remaining under her existing On April, 01, ZUFFA President, Dana White, advised members of the media that the ZUFFA fighters who were unable to compete at UFC in Brooklyn, New York as a result of Conor McGregor s actions would receive only their purse ( show money. Mr. White was asked by reporters whether these fighters would be paid both their purse money and win bonuses, and his response was no, because ZUFFA is not that rich. Apparently, ZUFFA is only rich enough to pay a fighter their purse and win bonus when it is done to retaliate against those who dared exercise their Section rights. --

11 Promotional Agreement. To the contrary, a representative of Ms. Smith replied directly to the correspondence from Mr. Campbell and advised that Ms. Smith would like to fight on April 1 and inquired whether it would be possible to get her show and win bonus for this bout and allow her another bout under her existing Promotional Agreement. ZUFFA, through Mr. Campbell, rejected the option presented by Ms. Smith in Paragraph and advised her, in writing, that the fight was no longer going to be proceeding. Ms. Smith received another piece of correspondence from Mr. Campbell on the afternoon of April 0, 01, which advised her that ZUFFA had decided to not exercise its Right of First Negotiation and Right to Match any Fighter Offers pursuant to the Promotional Agreement. Moreover, the letter advised Ms. Smith that she would be removed from the UFC registered drug testing pool administered by the United States Anti-Doping Association, of which being enrolled is a prerequisite to fighting in the UFC. ZUFFA removed Ms. Smith from its public rankings, of which she was ninth ( th in the world, less than forty-eight ( hours after advising her she had been terminated. There simply can be no dispute ZUFFA took adverse action against Ms. Smith, and based on the facts set forth herein and those to be uncovered in the investigation into this issue, ZUFFA s animus toward Ms. Smith s protected activity was the substantial or motivating reason for the adverse action(s taken against her. --

12 VI. CONCLUSION Based on the facts set forth herein and those to be uncovered during the Board s investigation into this matter, ZUFFA committed an unfair labor practice and violated Sections (a(1, (a( and all other applicable Sections of the Act when it took adverse action(s against Ms. Smith in response to her engagement in protected activity. 0 ZUFFA, through its unlawful actions against Ms. Smith, has further cultivated the climate of fear currently existent within its fighter employees as it relates to engagement in protected activity under the NLRA. Leslie Smith was one of the only UFC fighters willing to openly exercise her rights to form, join or assist a union. ZUFFA, with the termination of Ms. Smith, has delivered an unlawful message to the remainder of its fighter employees, which is: dare to form, join or assist a union and you too will accompany Ms. Smith not fighting in the UFC. This message contravenes the very purpose of the NLRA and ZUFFA cannot be allowed to continue flouting the Act. No person or entity is above the law Respectfully submitted on: Date: May, 01 By: Lucas K. Middlebrook, Esq. lmiddlebrook@ssmplaw.com Nicholas P. Granath, Esq. ngranath@ssmplaw.com SEHAM, SEHAM, MELTZ & PETERSEN, LLP 1 Main Street, Seventh Floor White Plains, NY 01 Tel: (1-1; Fax: (1-1 Attorney for the Charging Party Leslie Smith --