Occupy Wall Street Obama ACORN Working Families Party protestors, Craigslist ad, ACORN helped create mortgage crisis

From the ACORN archives:

“1 November 98 

The [Working Families] party…was founded this year by an alliance of labor unions, politicians and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or Acorn, an advocacy group with low-income members…The party hopes to win 50,000 votes from union members, workfare recipients, immigrants, the working poor and other traditionally liberal constituencies…Its supporters say that the Working Families Party has the potential to energize apathetic or apolitical New Yorkers, especially poor ones, and to keep issues like health care and a living wage prominent on the Democratic agenda.” 

From a Craigslist ad placed September 26, 2011.

The Working Families Party (WFP) (www.workingfamiliesparty.org) is New York’s most energetic, independent and progressive political party. Formed in 1998 by a grassroots coalition of community organizations, neighborhood activists, and labor unions, we came together to build a society that works for all of us, not just Wall Street CEOs and the well-connected. WFP is independent from corporate and government funding and in-addition we are community based; community funded and equally uninfluenced by both major parties. Our agenda focuses on economic and social justice, corporate accountability, job creation, environmental protection, and investment in education and healthcare. 

For the past twelve years the WFP has been at the fore front of progressive politics,

Leading the fight and helping to frame the debate. The WFP has a proud record of fighting for issues that matter and has been instrumental in implementing key pieces of legislation such as Raising New York’s Minimum Wage, Enacting Living Wage Laws, Creating Thousands of Jobs In the Green Economy, Passing Healthcare Reforms on the Local Level, Fighting for Affordable Housing, Keeping Tuition Costs Low, A Progressive Tax Code, Reliable/Cost Effective Public Transit System, Public Financing Of Elections and Corporate Accountability . In addition, we have an unapologetic stance on supporting and pushing good candidates to enact progressive legislation

The WFP is seeking immediate hires.

You must be an energetic communicator, with a passion for social and economic justice.

Only outgoing, articulate dedicated, determined candidates will be considered for the positions.

For those candidates that qualify WFP offers substantial paid-training provided by senior leadership, on varied issues such as: advocacy, public speaking, mobilizing, fundraising, networking and organizing. We invest in passionate people with excellent communication skills and a full benefits package is offered to those candidates that qualify. In addition, there is opportunity for advancement and travel to our satellite chapters and out of state affiliates.

This is not a policy job! Through direct action you will be shaping NY state politics for the next 20 years.

If you care about New York and want to help educate and mobilize around legislative campaigns-then we look forward to hearing from you!

Apply at http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/jobs/.

• Compensation: $350-$650 A Week Depending On Responsibility & Length Of Time On Staff
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 2618821815

More from the ACORN archives:

ACORN Report

“ACORN Spearheads Progressive Political Party in New York State 

December 1998
Led by ACORN, the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and other unions, a new progressive political party called the Working Families Party is rapidly gaining a foothold in New York state. The Party’s first show of strength this summer was collecting over three times the required 15,000 signatures to get on the November ballot. Then, on election day, the Party turned out the 50,000 votes necessary to secure a statewide ballot line for the next four years.

Taking advantage of state law allowing fusion or cross endorsements, the new party nominated the Democratic candidate for Governor, Peter Vallone, and urged supporters to cast their vote on the Working Families Party ballot line. The ballot was so complicated that it took extraordinary effort to even find the Working Families Party and, at first count, it appeared that the effort failed to reach the 50,000 vote goal. But absentee ballots and a careful check of precincts that hadn’t provided complete reports finally put the tally over the top.

The results make it easier for the Working Families Party to run candidates in future races and demonstrate the strength of its grassroots base. Rather than spending large amounts of money, the Party built a “Committee of 1000″ volunteer organizers to identify supporters and then relied on door-knocking, phone banks, e-mail and large public events to get out the vote.

The two largest events of any of the New York gubernatorial campaigns were put together by the Working Families Party, an 800 person rally ACORN organized in Brooklyn’s Haitian community and a 750 person union-community rally co-chaired by ACORN head organizer Bertha Lewis. On Election Day, 500 ACORN members joined another 700 volunteers doing get-out-the-vote work.

While the Party had no expectation of its candidate defeating the incumbent governor, the election provided the vehicle to win a ballot line, define a progressive agenda and establish a durable presence. Having now created a strong coalition of white working class unionists and Black and Latino community activists, the Party has excellent prospects for future electoral success. The next major focus will be the New York City mayoral and City Council races in 2001.”

“POLITICAL UPDATE 

April 1999
Working Families Party breaks
GOP hold on Long Island town

HEMPSTEAD, NY—ACORN and its labor partners in the newly ballot-qualified Working Families Party scored an upset victory in the municipal elections in Hempstead, Long Island on March 16. Taking advantage of New York’s fusion law that allows multi-party endorsement, two candidates ran for the Hempstead City Council on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines. They both won handily over the incumbent Republicans, an amazing feat given that no Democrat had won a city council race since 1975. According to the New York Times, the victors credited their success “not to the county [Democratic] organization but to the fledgling Working Families Party.””

http://web.archive.org/web/20010421194739/www.acorn.org/acorn-reports/acornrep.politics.content.html