After abrupt layoffs, Bloomberg campaign workers file suit, claim broken promise
Staffers in North Carolina and across the country who helped Democrat Michael Bloomberg mobilize a nationwide campaign in just 16 weeks are suing the campaign for breach of contract after being abruptly laid off last week.
The suit, filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, claims that workers were promised pay and benefits through November regardless of whether Bloomberg won the nomination.
Last week one former North Carolina staffer, who asked not to be named because they’d all signed non-disclosure agreements, told the Observer the layoffs came as “a punch to the gut with the epidemic going on and the economy flat-lining.”
Bloomberg quit the race earlier this month after a poor showing on Super Tuesday. He finished third in North Carolina far behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. After spending more than $875 million of his own money, he has won 50 delegates.
Bloomberg made North Carolina a priority. He opened his first field office in the country in Charlotte and had a statewide staff of 125 — one of the biggest in the country. Some workers would have made six-figure salaries if they’d worked to the election. All had generous health care coverage.
The campaign has said its staff in North Carolina and five other battleground states will be paid through the first week in April and have full benefits through April. They can apply to the Democratic Party for jobs in what the Bloomberg officials called a “competitive hiring process.” Those jobs are not expected to pay what Bloomberg’s paid.
“This campaign paid its staff wages and benefits that were much more generous than any other campaign this year,” a campaign spokesperson who asked not to be named said Monday. ”Staff worked 39 days on average, but they were also given several weeks of severance and healthcare through March, something no other campaign did this year. Given the current crisis, a fund is being created to ensure that all staff receive healthcare through April, which no other campaign has done.”
The layoffs came the day Bloomberg announced he was transferring $18 million to the national Democratic Party.
In the lawsuit, attorneys for plaintiff Donna Wood, a Bloomberg field organizer, say the candidate “promised paid employment with family, employer-paid healthcare benefits to (field organizers) and other campaign employees through November 2020. ...
“Many (organizers) and other campaign employees resigned or took leaves of absences from their then-current employment and many relocated to different cities and/or states in order to work for (Bloomberg).”
It also claims the campaign violated federal labor regulations by not paying overtime.
“People are upset because they were told, ‘Hey you’re going to be here until November,” said Ryan McGill of Charlotte, the campaign’s deputy director for veterans affairs. “There’s a lack of integrity there. People look to (Bloomberg) to be someone of integrity.”
Charlotte City Council member James Mitchell, Bloomberg’s state campaign director, declined to comment. Reports show he was making more than $11,000 a month.
Last week Bloomberg’s campaign announced it was turning over its N.C. field offices to the Democratic Party.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 3:36 PM.
