A fundraising campaign for recently laid-off workers at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has raised thousands online.
The GoFundMe page set up by the union representing members of the DNC has received nearly $19,000 in donations, at time of writing, since it was created on November 20. The "DNC Staff Union Layoff Relief Fund" is hoping to raise $25,000.
The DNC Staff Union recently accused the party's leadership of "callous and short-sighted mismanagement" after alleging that workers were laid off abruptly with no severance pay. The union said in a November 18 statement that, by contrast, those who were let go from Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign team in the wake of her election loss received three weeks of severance.
"We want to be clear: The funds raised from this GoFundMe are not a replacement for the severance we are still fighting for on behalf of our colleagues," DNC Staff Union's Jill Brownfield wrote on the GoFundMe page.
On top of Harris' election defeat, the Democratic Party also lost control of the Senate and failed to win the House in November's elections.
Newsweek has contacted the DNC and the DNC Staff Union for comment via email.
The GoFundMe page's description said that around two-thirds of DNC staff were laid off with "little notice" earlier this month.
"We are heartbroken to see our colleagues—who dedicated countless hours to electing Democrats up and down the ballot—depart under these circumstances, and we are furious with DNC leadership for failing to provide severance to those affected," Brownfield wrote.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a DNC spokesperson said: "Every cycle, political organizations scale up to meet the demands, and as the cycle comes to a close, it's a tough reality of our industry that we must part with talented, hardworking staff."
The spokesperson added that the DNC had met the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was negotiated before laying off the staff.
"We share the entire DNC family's frustration and continue to provide resources to all members of the team to support them in this transition," the spokesperson said.
In its statement, the DNC Staff Union said the layoffs occurred despite recent "record-breaking fundraising."
Harris and the Democratic Party's 2024 election fundraising operation brought in more than $1 billion in just over three months, but reportedly ended the campaign $20 million in debt. Patrick Stauffer, the Harris campaign's chief financial officer, has denied the campaign is in the red.
"These cuts go far beyond typical campaign turnover and impact employees who were previously told their positions would be retained after the election," the DNC Staff Union said.
"Chair Jaime Harrison and Executive Director Sam Cornale refuse to address their staff face to face and have offered no explanation for how these cuts were decided."
The GoFundMe page states that the money raised will go directly to recently laid-off staff members and will be distributed equally to anyone who opts in to receive the funds.
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