Who is Working Families Party?
The Connecticut Working Families Party is Connecticut's fastest growing political party. We were formed by a coalition of community organizations, labor unions and neighborhood activists to hold politicians accountable on the issues that matter most to working and middle class families like good jobs, affordable healthcare, decent living wage jobs, fair taxes, good schools, reasonable utility rates and more.
We're bus drivers from Hartford, students in New Haven, small business owners in Fairfield, Wal-Mart workers from New Britain, lawyers from South Windsor, building service workers in Danbury, police officers in Waterbury, submarine builders in Groton, and school paraprofessionals in Ellington. We're the every day people that make Connecticut what it is. We're all Working Families.
Why vote Working Families?
When you vote on the Working Families line on the ballot, you're voting your values. You're using your vote to take a stand and send a message about the world you want to see. One with an economy that works for everyone, where politicians put working people before CEOs and Wall Street banks, and where basic standards like access to healthcare or time off to take care of a sick family member are upheld.
Unlike other political parties, our work doesn’t end on election day. We’re always fighting for a working families-friendly agenda, and Working Families Party votes help push politicians to support our values. (Find Working Families on your ballot.)
What is cross-endorsement?
When the WFP 'cross-endorses' a major party candidate, that means the candidate will appear on the ballot twice: once on their own party's line and once on the WFP line. The votes from each party are tallied separately, but then combined for that candidate’s total. It gives voters a way to “vote their values” and send Democrats and Republicans alike a message that it's time to put working and middle class families first.
It's one way that makes WFP different from other parties. When you vote cast on the Working Families line, it tells politicians your serious about our issues. And when those votes push a candidate to victory, it helps hold that politician's feat to the fire on the issues that matter to working families. (Learn more about cross-endorsement.)
Do I have to be registered in the Working Families Party to participate?
No. Most Working Families members and supporters are independents or registered in other parties. All of them, however, share our vision. They vote on our line, join local chapters to work on campaigns, decide who we should endorse, and fund our work.
Does the Working Families Party ever run its own candidates?
Most of the time, Working Families cross-endorses Democrats or Republicans who promise to fight for issues that matter to working familes.
We hate to ask our supporters to throw their votes to a candidate who doesn't have a shot. But if we think we can win, we'll run on our own. We've elected our own members to municpal offices in Hartford, Bridgeport and Windham.
If we think that there’s no difference between the two major party candidates, running our own candidate can send a powerful message to both the Democrats and the Republicans that working people can’t be taken for granted.
How does the Working Families choose what candidates to support?
We support candidates who stand who have the courage to stand up and fight for the issues that really matter to us. Working Families members research the records and interview candidates and ask them to take firm positions on our issues. It’s an original, exciting, democratic process that allows ordinary people to decide what candidates their party should support. (more)
Does Working Families exist in other states?
Working Families Party was founded as an experiment in independent politics in New York in 1998. When they started racking up victories, activists, community leaders and union members began to plan the formation of a Working Families Party here in Connecticut. (See the New York Working Families website.)
Over the last few years, based on the successes and victories in Connecticut and New York, new Working Families Parties have started organizing in Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Delaware too.
Cross-endorsement is a vital part of the strategy - and while cross-endorsement used to be legal and common everywhere, it's currently only legal in a few state. The National Open Ballot Voting Project is an organization pushing for the relegalization of cross-endorsement in states across the country.
Where does your funding come from?
Our funding comes from affiliated community groups and unions from regular people like you. Pitch in.
Can a third party really ever make a difference?
Lots of voters aren’t satisfied with the narrow choices offered by the major parties. But in most states, voters have two lousy options to choose from: the “lesser of two evils,” or the “wasted vote” on a third party.
But Connecticut is different. Because of the power of cross-endorsement, our ballot line means something very real for politicians here. The Working Families ballot line is both the “carrot” and the “stick” that the we use to hold politicians accountable. When politicians support and fight for our issues, they get the reward of an extra ballot line and the additional votes that our members and supporters brings. When they side with corporations and big money donors, they face the “stick” option — we can run our own candidate on our line, or support the opposing party’s candidate.
We're just getting started. But we've already has some exciting victories, And we're looking forward to lots more in the future.