Andrew Yang built his long-shot candidacy into a grassroots movement by advocating for a humane capitalism that leaves no worker behind. But his employees say that behind the scenes that's exactly what his campaign just did.
His campaign began layoffs in the wake of his disastrous showing at the Iowa caucus, moves that the campaign characterized to Insider at the time
as planned. But Yang's staff said they were blindsided by the sudden staff cuts.
Many found out that something was amiss when they suddenly lost their email accounts and Slack messaging system. Others learned they'd lost their job via the rumor mill, only to receive formal letters much later.
"For a Democrat who is 'all about the worker,' he's just talking the talk, no walking here," one staffer said. "'Humanity first' but [there's] no transparency or honesty with the lay off, period. They gave zero warning and just starting deactivating people's emails and Slack accounts. There is now a culture of fear across the entire campaign because of those layoffs."
The layoffs left the campaign staff feeling angry and confused, and many said the campaign squandered its historic momentum by creating a disorganized and unfair culture.
Four current and former Yang campaign staffers at varying levels of seniority told Insider that the layoffs are just the tip of the iceberg of a campaign culture characterized by disorganization and a "lack of transparency." All of them spoke to Insider on the condition of anonymity due to being bound by non-disclosure agreements in some cases, and fearing retribution from the campaign.
After a meteoric rise for an unknown candidate, Yang was brought back down to earth by Iowa, where he received fewer than 1,800 votes in the caucuses, earning just 1% of the statewide vote, 1% of state delegate equivalents, and zero pledged delegates that count towards the convention.
All sources confirmed
earlier reporting from Politico that a series of missteps and miscommunications between the national and state-level campaign operations had resulted in some Yang staffers finding out they had been laid off through word of mouth or by having their accounts suddenly deactivated and only receiving formal termination letters after the fact.
Staffers told Insider that as many as 100 campaign employees lost their jobs, but the campaign declined to confirm how many were laid off, saying only that the specific number told to Insider "was inaccurate."
In a Monday statement to Insider, Yang campaign chief Nick Ryan said: "Andrew and the campaign are tremendously grateful for the efforts of all of our staff. The success of this movement would not have been possible if not for this dedicated and talented group. The decisions we made last week were not easy nor taken lightly."
Three sources said that in one state, the campaign either laid off or re-deployed all of the office's
representatives of the Campaign Worker's Guild, the union representing Yang organizers, in what they characterized as retaliatory layoffs.
One staffer described the campaign's attitude towards the union as "completely disrespectful," saying the campaign declined to negotiate on some points, including severance, and appeared to be "kicking the can down the road" to avoid negotiating before the campaign's end.
Yang's national press secretary SY Lee told Insider that the union had rebuffed the campaign's efforts to negotiate.
"We had been working with the CWG for weeks to come to a resolution as quickly as possible," Lee said. "Our legal team received a memorandum of understanding over the weekend before the Iowa caucuses from some members of the CWG and was not provided sufficient time to review it. However, despite our repeated attempts to negotiate with these select individuals, we were rebuffed with no reason given."
Lee said that all employees who were laid off received a formal termination notice and would receive their severance pay within 48 hours of the press secretary's email to Insider on Monday afternoon.
Two sources told Insider that in addition to the layoffs affecting union representatives, staffers with friends in campaign headquarters or on the national staff team were more likely to keep their jobs than others.
Brad Bauman, a senior advisor for communications, told Insider that "we feel genuinely terrible for the folks who were laid off after Iowa, but in no way were those layoffs any different from any other presidential campaign that had to face tough choices in the aftermath of a difficult contest."
Four staffers told Insider that the campaign hasn't yet paid any severance, telling the laid-off former staff that they'll receive severance once they return equipment or promising in vague terms that they will receive $400-500 in the near future.
A senior Yang campaign official told Insider that the days-long delays in paying severance were not deliberate, but simply a function of the payroll software the campaign uses.
"At every point, the campaign was honest about next steps following Iowa and folks in every department knew that the campaign's circumstances could change dramatically after the caucus," Bauman said. "We have made every attempt to give staff who were let go a soft landing including severance."
Still, staffers were angry about the inconsistencies and delays in the allocation of severance.
"[Yang] talks about giving every American $1,000 a month but can't give his own campaign staffers severance. It's infuriating," one source said.