Working America is the political organizing arm of the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

. Its membership is made up of non- union individuals. It is the largest non-employer based affiliate union and workers' group in the United States, with a self-reported membership of 5 million individuals. Working America advocates for progressive policy issues. The organization recruits people in working-class neighborhoods on their doorsteps in an effort to persuade them to support labor-backed candidates at election time.

Overview

The organization started as a two-state pilot project of the AFL–CIO in 2003. The organization was launched nationally that fall, as a national directly affiliated labor union that would "not be employment-based or workplace-based in any way." Instead, it was to be a "neighborhood-based, membership organization affiliated with the labor movement...

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

will give working Americans who do not belong to unions the platform and the tools to join together and have their voices heard... canvassers will go door-to-door to educate, recruit members, and mobilize working families around important national, state, and local issues such as jobs, health care, and education". The organization's founding director was

Karen Nussbaum Karen Nussbaum (born April 25, 1950) is an American labor leader and founding director of Working America. Nussbaum was born in Chicago where her mother, Annette Brenner Nussbaum, was a publicist, and her father, Myron "Mike" Nussbaum, was an e ...

. In October 2005, the organization announced that it had enrolled 1 million members. It reported a membership of 2.5 million by the fall of 2008. As of October 2024, they report a membership of 5 million.

Campaigns

Working America undertook its first nationwide activities in the

2004 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney, were re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated ...

. It organized a "Show Us The Jobs" bus tour of workers throughout the Midwest. The tour was critical of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's policies. Working America was active in the 2006 midterm congressional elections. Working America activists were credited by the press and Democrats for helping to deliver federal and state victories in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. In 2007, Working America began a campaign to build support for

universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized a ...

. The group established a "Health Care Hustle" website on which consumers could post stories about how lack of health insurance or under-insurance led to significant financial, health or other problems. Working America promised to launch a campaign against the organization or corporation which received the most "horror stories." The effort built upon a previous campaign by Working America in mid-2006 in which the organization asked the public to submit stories about "bad bosses." In 2015, Working America led a "massive get-out-the-vote effort" to elect Democrat Jack Conway as

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...

. Conway was defeated by Republican

Matt Bevin Matthew Griswold Bevin (; born January 9, 1967) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 62nd governor of Kentucky from 2015 to 2019. He is currently the CEO of Neuronetrix Solutions, LLC. Bo ...

Policy positions

Working America opposes social security privatization. It supports the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

and

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

expansion. The organization advocates for an increased minimum wage and universal health care.

References

External links

*
Working America at OpenSecrets.org
{{Portal, Organized labour AFL-CIO 2003 establishments in the United States Trade unions in the United States Trade unions established in 2003 Workers' rights organizations based in the United States