Smith has been actively lobbying other UFC fighters to sign union authorization cardsGETTY IMAGES
MMA fighter Leslie Smith, the vocal leader of an effort to unionize the UFC, has filed an unfair labor practices charge against the organization with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging they retaliated against her for her organizing efforts. "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," states the charge filed in the NRLB's Philadelphia region. The UFC did not renew Smith's contract after she declined to fight Aspen Ladd, who did not make weight for a scheduled bout at the UFC Atlantic City event late last month. Instead, the UFC paid Smith the win and show money -- $62,000 -- and took her off their rankings, where she was No. 9 in the women's bantamweight division. Smith has been actively lobbying other UFC fighters to sign union authorization cards, both on her social media, in press interviews and in personal meetings with other UFC fighters. The UFC declined to comment for this story. The NLRB charge alleges that the UFC’s "decision to terminate Ms. Smith was based on the animus it held toward her engagement in protected activity." Lucas Middlebrook, a labor attorney who is representing Smith, as well as the Project Spearhead unionization effort, said the NLRB could be forced to reinstate Smith, among other things, if she were to win the case.
