Working America
Working America seeks to educate, organize, and mobilize working-class people around the country to support progressive policies and Democratic candidates. Along with its 501(c)(3) arm, Working America Education Fund — both affiliated with the AFL-CIO — the group uses door-to-door outreach and other strategies to engage workers in a sustained and meaningful way. It has contacted millions of voters in recent elections and has built a clear track record of success.
Why This Work is Important
Democrats must do better among working-class voters. Democrats have long struggled to win majority support in working-class communities, with the party’s demographics increasingly skewing more affluent and educated. Focused investments are needed to engage these voters in new and effective ways — especially given signs that more nonwhite working-class voters are trending right. A majority of voters in key battleground states do not have a college degree.
Organizing is rooted in everyday issues and taking on winnable fights. Working America connects with people on kitchen table issues, such as wages, affordable Internet access, and student loan forgiveness, with a focus on winnable political fights that are both directly relevant to their lives and often appear nonpartisan. When workers see tangible progress from their political engagement, it helps to build trust and a sense of empowerment.
Why Donors Should Consider Working America
Working America has a strong record of impact. It runs one of the largest outreach efforts focused on working-class Americans in the nation. It hires, trains, and deploys canvassers to go door-to-door in working-class communities to hold one-on-one conversations about the economy, their economic well-being, and how federal and state policies impact their everyday lives. During the 2024 election cycle, it had 1.6 million conversations at people’s doors to engage, persuade, and turn out working-class voters in key battleground states and congressional districts. It also connected to voters through telephone, SMS, and digital outreach.
Giving to Working America is cost-effective. Analysis by Focus for Democracy, a group that uses rigorous, metrics-based research to evaluate electoral giving options, has found that Working America offers great value to donors. FFD has called Working America “one of the most effective ways to produce net Democratic votes in the key battleground states, by a long shot.”
Organizing efforts are built for the long term. Working America works across multiple election cycles to build lasting relationships with people through consistent contact and direct outreach. This long-term approach allows the organization to deeply understand voters and how to influence their choices.
Conclusion
Working America is engaging working people at a crucial time. While the right is invested in culture wars and grievance politics, Working America can direct working-class voters to the left by engaging them in winnable battles that will noticeably improve their lives. Investing in this type of organizing over the long term can reap significant benefits for the working class and have a major impact on electoral outcomes.