Dem fundraising giant ActBlue lays off 17 percent of workforce

“But we need to ensure we are serving our users as sustainably and effectively as possible during the 2024 cycle and beyond,” Wallace-Jones said. “The center of our work is providing a technology platform for campaigns, organizations, and donors to drive change, and we are looking to focus our efforts on innovating and expanding our product while also controlling our costs.”

ActBlue workers are unionized under two unions. In a release, the company said it was committed to working with both unions in accordance with “contractual and bargaining obligations.”

In a release on Monday, ActBlue Union, which ratified a contract in February, said 32 of 54 employees laid off were members of its union, criticized ActBlue management, saying the organization had refused to explore alternatives to layoffs such as pay cuts, and called on the organization to not pursue further layoffs.

During the 2022 cycle, ActBlue reported processing more than $3.5 billion for Democratic candidates and progressive organizations, more than double the total it had raised during the 2018 cycle, from more than 7.4 million individual donors. The platform, founded in 2004, has been widely credited with supporting Democrats’ substantial small-dollar donor fundraising advantage.