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Michael Butler, the St. Louis recorder of deeds who was elected party chairman in December, said he jettisoned the staff after taking over due to “poor performance� in the 2020 election. He referenced Democrats’ 17 percentage point loss in the governor’s race.

“I terminated all employees because of poor performance in the last election cycle,� Butler said in an email on Monday. “Democrats lost Missouri by 17%, I think we all can agree the staff did not perform its job properly, period.�

His emailed statement followed a Post-Dispatch report Monday that detailed end-of-year firings within the Democratic Party; the only staff left on after the terminations weren’t in the union bargaining unit.

Butler, who was unavailable for comment last week, said the firings — which included five full-time staff and two part-time fellows — were made pursuant to a labor agreement between the party and workers that took effect in August 2020.

“In any election of a chair, MDP need not provide advance notice of a layoff,� the labor agreement says.

In response to Butler’s statement, Jordan Hunt, former finance director for the party and one of the workers fired in December, said that “of course Butler can fire the entire union staff but that action speaks volumes about his supposed commitment to the labor movement.�

Hunt said the firings were abrupt.

“We all got phone calls from Michael Butler saying that this was our last day and that we’d be paid through the end of the year but that no more work would be performed,� Hunt said.

She said prior to the firings, staff weren’t given guidance on their futures.

“We just kept working and so we had no idea that we were going to be fired, certainly not so unceremoniously,� Hunt said, adding the firings left end-of-year tasks such as final fundraising pushes unfulfilled.

Butler said he kept management on for another two months before firing them, too.

Hunt said one of the union’s goals was to end the “churn and burn� cycle of party staff, where new employees have to be onboarded every two years.

This isn’t the first time Butler has cleaned house after taking over an office.

Butler last year agreed to pay out $108,000 to settle a federal lawsuit by four former employees in the recorder of deeds office who alleged their terminations were illegal and politically motivated.

Butler, in his statement Monday, said Missouri Democrats were the only party in the state with a staff union and that the party still recognizes the union.

As of last week, there weren’t any employees in the bargaining unit, but the party planned to add unionized staff as the 2022 election nears, a party spokeswoman said.

The Post-Dispatch also reported on a charge filed in December by Ben Conover, ex-data director for the party, with the National Labor Relations Board.

Conover accused the party of suspending and terminating him to “discourage� protected union activities in violation of federal labor law.

He said his firing took place as the party was entering financial negotiations, and that he was a leader at the negotiating table.

He said after the NLRB found merit to his charge, he and the party began settlement negotiations.

Conover’s termination took place before Butler became party chairman.

“I like Ben Conover, and if he felt he was terminated unfairly, as a Democrat I believe he has a right to make a complaint,� Butler said. “The MDP is taking his settlement negotiations very seriously.�