MoveOn carries out layoffs as liberal groups struggle to raise money
Liberal activist organization MoveOn laid off at least 18 employees this week, in the latest sign of a slowdown in donations from small donors to left-wing causes and candidates.
“We are restructuring our team to meet the urgent needs of this moment and have the resources necessary to do so,” said Rahna Epting, Executive Director of MoveOn. “I extend my sincere gratitude to our departing colleagues and for the incredible contributions they have made to the MoveOn community.”
The job cuts are part of a broader restructuring ahead of the 2024 election cycle that the group announced in June, according to a MoveOn employee who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The employees who lost their jobs were told this week that they would be leaving the organization, the employee said.
The MoveOn official said the group would add up to 18 new positions, but that more positions were being cut than would be added. The laid-off staff have been invited to apply for the new positions, many of which will have lower pay than those eliminated this week, according to the employee, who said the group expected to employ about 80 to 90 staff in total. in 2024.
While employees who lost their jobs told friends and turned to progressive email lists to look for work, MoveOn gave remaining staff at its Washington headquarters Thursday and Friday off work.
One of the first progressive organizations to launch online, MoveOn was founded in 1998 to oppose Republican efforts to impeach President Bill Clinton. It later became one of the largest groups organizing resistance to the war in Iraq. MoveOn endorsed Barack Obama early in the 2008 campaign and led an unsuccessful movement to include Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in the 2016 presidential campaign.
The group is now involved in a broad Democratic effort to block No Labels from mounting a third-party centrist presidential bid in 2024.
Democratic candidates and liberal organizations have struggled to keep up with the pace of fundraising during Donald J. Trump’s presidency and even in the early years of President Biden’s administration.
Officials from liberal groups and Democratic campaigns have attributed their cash crunch to changes in the way tech companies like Google and Apple filter fundraising requests, as well as dampened enthusiasm for Mr. Biden and an economy that has made donors less willing to donate steps. money.
MoveOn’s layoffs came days after it became a 15 foot inflatable balloon likeness from Rep. George Santos, the disgraced New York Republican, to the National Mall, a few blocks from the Capitol, as lawmakers returned from their Thanksgiving recess.
The balloon, which the organization said was part of its efforts to pressure lawmakers to oust Mr. Santos, wore his trademark thick-rimmed glasses and a red tie emblazoned with the phrase “full of lies.”
It was unclear whether members of Congress saw the balloon during their commute, although it attracted the attention of the news media and tourists.
Michael Gold reporting contributed.