About the Labor Party
What is the Labor Party?
The Labor Party is a new political party of, by and for working people. It was founded in June 1996 at a convention of 1,400 delegates from hundreds of local and international unions as well as individual activists. We believe that on issues most important to working people – trade, health care, and the rights to organize, bargain and strike – both the Democrats and Republicans have failed working people.

Why do we need a Labor Party?
We need a Labor Party to give working people a political voice. The two major political parties are too busy doing favors for their corporate sponsors to notice what's happened to working people in this country over the past 25 years. Our wages have fallen, our health benefits (if we have them) have been slashed, and we can't depend on our jobs being here tomorrow.

Many people have become cynical and hopeless, believing that no one person nor organized effort can break the power corporations and the wealthy have. At election time, almost half of eligible voters don't bother to go to the polls. Labor Party members, however, don't believe the situation is hopeless. If we organize, we can begin to bring about a change.

Who supports the Labor Party?
International unions including AFGE, BMWE, CNA, PACE (formerly OCAW), UE and UMWA and thousands of local unions – representing over two million workers – worker supportive organizations and thousands of individual members make up the base of support for the Labor Party.

What does the Labor Party stand for?
At our Founding Convention, some 1,400 elected delegates from 46 states adopted a 16-point program for the Labor Party. That program – the Call for Economic Justice – demands that everyone who wants to work have a right to a decent-paying job. As long as millions of us remain jobless or employed at jobs that pay poverty wages, all of us will suffer.

The Labor Party also demands that workers have the right to organize, bargain, and strike. We demand freedom from discrimination of any kind. We insist on free, quality public education for all (through college) and publicly funded, comprehensive national health insurance. We want the guaranteed four-week vacation that most Europeans enjoy, a 32-hour work week, and decent severance pay guaranteed for anyone who is laid off.

We want to end corporate abuse of trade and corporate welfare, we want corporations to pay their fair share of taxes, and we want to end corporate domination of the elections. We call for restoring the public sector of our economy, which has been decimated over the last few decades. We believe this country needs to protect the environment without making working people take the brunt of the pain: we need a "just transition movement" to protect both jobs and the environment.

Read more about what the Labor Party stands for: Call for Economic Justice.

Does the Labor Party run candidates?
Unlike other political parties, public officials elected by the Labor Party will be accountable to the party membership and required to follow the positions outlined in the party platform. At our 1998 convention, delegates adopted an electoral strategy which calls for running candidates for positions where they can help enact and enforce laws and policies to benefit the working class and where we can best advance the goals and priorities of the Labor Party. Our electoral strategy includes local and state ballot initiatives on issues such as health care, education and energy policy. Read our Electoral Statement.

Labor Party Structure
How is the Labor Party structured?
The Labor Party is national in scope and includes state parties, chapters and local organizing committees which organize members and promote the activities and policies of the Labor Party in its jurisdiction, and elect delegates to Labor Party conventions.

Who runs the Labor Party?
The convention is the supreme governing body of the Labor Party and has final authority in all matters of national policy, program and constitution. Between conventions, the National Council is the governing body with full authority to issue policy statements in the name of the Labor Party. The National Council is made up of representatives of the major affiliating unions and worker-supportive organizations, Labor Party chapter representatives and individuals who represent constituencies not otherwise adequately represented. The National Organizer directs the Labor Party's activities on a day-to-day basis.

What is the Labor Party's commitment to diversity in its leadership?
The Labor Party's Program – the Call for Economic Justice – includes a demand to End Bigotry: An Injury to One is an Injury to All. "From the shop floor to the executive suite, we believe the workforce should reflect the wonderfully diverse face of our nation. We stand for justice and the end to discrimination."

Our constitution applies this principle to our own organization. "The membership of the National Council shall reflect the diversity of our respective memberships, and shall be consistent with the principles set forth in the preamble."

Does the Labor Party support or endorse candidates or caucuses within local or international unions?
No. It is Labor Party policy NOT to interfere in the internal affairs and politics of individual unions.

What is the Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute?
The Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute (DJDI) is the non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and cultural arm of the Labor Party. Named for labor champions Eugene V. Debs, Mother Jones and Frederick Douglass, DJDI's mission is to assist in the establishment of a society in which equality of opportunity and citizenship is assured, through providing education using the fullest range of methods, curricula and delivery systems. The work of DJDI includes educational and cultural projects on health care, higher education, occupational health and safety and genetics. It has sponsored national radio call-in programs and the DC Labor Film Fest.

Membership
Who may join the Labor Party?
Membership in the Labor Party is open to individuals, to unions and to worker-supportive organizations. Individual members pay annual dues (regular membership is $20 per year) and union and worker-supportive organizations pay an annual affiliation fee according to the size of the union. Striking and locked-out workers pay no dues. To join, click here.

Do I have to be a union member to join the Labor Party?
No! Although the Labor Party is rooted in the trade union movement, the Labor Party welcomes anyone who believes that working people – union and non-union – need a voice in the issues that affect us most.

Does joining the Labor Party affect my ability to vote as a Democrat or Republican?
No. Joining the Labor Party at this time does not affect your voter registration.

Why am I asked to pay both national and local membership dues?
The national Labor Party is financed by union affiliation fees and individual membership dues. National dues include a subscription to the Labor Party Press. Since no part of this revenue goes to local Labor Party organizations, state parties and chapters may choose to charge individual membership dues to finance their activities. However, to be a member in good standing of the Labor Party, national dues must be paid. In other words, paying dues to a state party or chapter alone does not make you a Labor Party member. National dues are paramount.

How can I get involved?
As an individual, you can voice your demand for an end to corporate-dominated politics by becoming a member of the Labor Party and building the Labor Party in your community. As a union member, you can work to affiliate your local and/or international union and recruit your union brothers and sisters. Join the Labor Party today!