Staffers of the once-great New York City mayor and former presidential candidate are requesting that he be removed as a speaker from the Democratic National Convention, the Hill reports.
What We Know:
- After ending his 2020 presidential bid, Mike Bloomberg said he would keep his campaign staff and headquarters in areas around the country to help elect Joe Biden and other Democratic candidates during the general election. Now, six former staffers are suing Bloomberg after being fired following the end of his primary battle. These same staffers are asking that he be removed as a speaker at this year’s convention which just kicked off Monday.
- In a letter, the former staffers grilled Bloomberg for being “immoral” and “unfair”.
They wrote, “This is the type of greedy, anti-worker move we’d expect from Donald Trump, but not from a Democratic presidential candidate. The Democratic Party and its platform strongly oppose the immoral and unfair things that Mike Bloomberg did to thousands of his staffers during his presidential campaign.”
- They added that whether Bloomberg remains scheduled to speak or not, they asked that the DNC uphold his promise by allowing the field staff to “help elect Joe Biden, retain the House, and take back the Senate” and provide them with the payment and benefits they feel they deserve.
- A Bloomberg spokesperson said that all of his staffers received an extension of their health benefits through the end of the election cycle. The spokesperson also added that “Although no one was promised employment through November, Mike Bloomberg remains the biggest supporter of the Democratic Party, including through a transfer of $18 million to DNC organizing efforts to hire hundreds of organizers in battleground states.”
- Bloomberg’s attorneys are seeking to dismiss the suit, arguing that the staffers contracts said they could be fired at any time.
The 2020 Democratic National Convention continues through Thursday, August 20th. Monday’s speeches included former First Lady Michelle Obama who grilled Donald Trump for being in over his head.
