Ben Jealous heads up the Sierra Club. …He’s openly feuding with a staff union that represents his employees, a fight that’s flaring tensions… Staffers who were at first enthusiastic about Jealous’ hire are now furious that one of his early moves was to announce layoffs across the organization, including laying off the group’s entire equity team. …Jealous puts the blame squarely on the Progressive Workers Union (PWU), which represents Sierra Club staffers. …We spoke to 22 current and former Sierra Club employees and board members. …Staffers accuse Jealous of being disrespectful about how the layoffs were conducted, surrounding himself with an insular senior team that he hand-picked from his previous jobs… He’s also faced criticism about spending money to renovate his Washington office… And some employees worry that the former Maryland gubernatorial candidate wants to use his Sierra Club post and its donor network to further his political career.