The pandemic is long over, but the fight inside the Democratic National Committee over a full-time return to its office has just begun.
Years after many companies ordered their employees back to work, D.N.C. workers in the Washington area got the surprise news: Ken Martin, the party chairman, announced at an all-staff meeting on Wednesday afternoon that they would be expected to work in person at headquarters five days a week beginning in February.
Mr. Martin explained that a full-time return to the office was necessary to ensure that information wasn’t being siloed and that staff members would not miss out on time-sensitive decisions that will be made quickly in person ahead of the highly consequential midterm elections.
The complaints began almost immediately — both in the room and on Zoom, where his comments were streamed to those working remotely. People who participated in the call described a flurry of thumbs-down emojis and other online expressions of discontent.
By the end of the day, the party’s union was calling the decision “callous.”
Mr. Martin took questions at the meeting, which was described by four people who attended and who were granted anonymity to describe a closed-door gathering.
At one point, Mr. Martin responded to the frustration being aired by his employees and said that if D.N.C. staff members did not like his return-to-work policies, they should consider finding another job elsewhere. He also suggested that the change in attendance policy had been a “Band-Aid” that was overdue in being ripped off, two of the people said. Many D.N.C. officials are currently expected to work at least three days in the office per week.
The leadership of the union representing D.N.C. staff members, which is part of Local 500 of the Service Employees International Union, issued a statement to The New York Times on Wednesday calling Mr. Martin’s remarks “shocking.”
“It was shocking to see the D.N.C. chair disregard staff’s valid concerns on today’s team call,” the union’s leadership wrote. “D.N.C. staff worked extremely hard to support historic wins for Democrats up and down the ballot last Tuesday, and this change feels especially callous considering the current economic conditions created by the Trump administration.”
A spokeswoman for the D.N.C. declined to comment on the record.
The fact that some employees of certain Democratic campaigns and organizations have unionized has caused some quiet consternation among party leaders, even as the party broadly embraces organized labor. Just days before President Trump’s inauguration this year, the Congressional Progressive Staff Association wrote a letter proposing a 32-hour workweek that was widely mocked.
The D.N.C.’s staff union, which ratified a bargaining agreement over the summer, pointed to language in which the party said it “reaffirms its commitment to making hybrid work available.” A D.N.C. official noted that the agreement allowed for a full return to the office with 60 days’ notice.
The union said it was “considering its options” but had no action to announce.
“The D.N.C. Staff Union remains committed to supporting our employees as whole people and will continue to hold management accountable to our contract,” it said in a statement.
At another point during the meeting, one D.N.C. staff member argued to Mr. Martin that the party had won the 2020 presidential election with everyone working remotely and could do so again in 2028, according to two of the people who participated in the meeting and the party’s staff union.
Mr. Martin also said remote-work accommodations would be granted case by case, one person said.
The change in attendance policy at the D.N.C. comes long after most of corporate America and the federal government have made similar moves. In March, Mr. Trump ended most remote work policies for employees of the executive branch.
Not everyone at the D.N.C. is part of the union, with managers and many political staff members remaining excluded. Late last year, the union called post-election layoffs “a betrayal” — though it is typical for the party to trim its staff after elections.
Shane Goldmacher is a Times national political correspondent.
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