campaign workers guild

What campaign workers guild does

Campaign Workers Guild (CWG) is a private, nonpartisan labor union founded in 2017 and domiciled in Washington, DC, dedicated exclusively to representing workers in the political campaign and advocacy industry. It was created by campaign workers self-organizing against widespread exploitation in political campaigns — long hours (often 80-100 per week), low pay, lack of healthcare or sick days, unsafe housing, and exposure to harassment without recourse. CWG's core service is collective bargaining representation delivered through two interlocking products: the Union Wave, a card-check recognition program that allows candidates to voluntarily recognize worker unions via DocuSign, and the Standard CBA, a pre-negotiated collective bargaining agreement that provides wage floors, healthcare benefits or stipends, progressive discipline, grievance procedures, and just-cause standards without per-employer renegotiation.

The union is governed democratically by an Executive Council of up to 17 elected members, including President Amber Glass, Vice President Katy Hartnett, Treasurer Dominique Lee, and Secretary Annabel Xu, with no parent company or institutional investor. Revenue is generated through three streams: monthly membership dues from current and former campaign workers (amounts undisclosed), donations via the Donorbox platform, and merchandise sales (union-made shirts, stickers, patches, posters, hats). CWG distributes a members-only job board as a retention benefit and sells merchandise through its own e-commerce storefront. Go-to-market relies on grassroots organizing, one-on-one conversations, earned media coverage (HuffPost, Bloomberg, The Intercept, Mother Jones, The Nation, AP), and organic social channels (Twitter/X, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads) rather than paid acquisition.

CWG currently holds active collective bargaining agreements at 20+ workplaces spanning federal candidate campaigns, state Democratic parties (Arizona, Oregon, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Missouri), campaign-finance platforms (ActBlue), political action committees (FuturePAC), consulting firms (New Blue Interactive), voter engagement organizations (NextGen America), and advocacy groups (NAPAWF). Historical contracts include Harris for President, Mark Kelly, Castro, Yang, and Tom Perez. As of June 2026, CWG is actively escalating disputes with institutional employers, having filed an unfair labor practice charge against ActBlue and prepared federal labor charges against the North Carolina Democratic Party.

Name

campaign workers guild

Legal name

Campaign Workers Guild

Website

https://campaignworkersguild.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Campaign Workers Guild is a nonpartisan labor union founded in 2017 that represents political campaign and advocacy workers through card-check union recognition and a standardized collective bargaining agreement, serving campaigns, state parties, PACs, and advocacy organizations across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Union Services

NAICS

Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations (813930), Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations (81393)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Labor Relations & Union Management Training (EDABAIAK)

Keywords

• Labor union representation
• Collective bargaining services
• Campaign worker advocacy
• Union membership dues
• Political campaign organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: CWG generates revenue through dues-paying members. Current and former campaign workers can become dues-paying members to gain access to exclusive job postings and participate in trainings.
2. Merchandise Sales: CWG sells branded merchandise including shirts, stickers, patches, posters, and hats. All merch proceeds go back into supporting the mission of CWG to represent campaign workers.
3. Donations: CWG accepts donations through Donorbox platform to support the organization financially.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Campaign Workers Guild (CWG) is the first and only labor union dedicated to representing political campaign and advocacy workers in the United States. It provides collective bargaining representation through a standardized Card Check Agreement and Standard CBA, enabling rapid union recognition without lengthy contract negotiations on campaign timelines. The union also operates a dues-paying membership program with exclusive job board access and trainings, and sells union-made merchandise to support its mission.

Product overview

Campaign Workers Guild is a labor union providing campaign workers with collective bargaining representation, membership benefits, and advocacy services. The organization operates through its core membership program, the Union Wave card-check program (using the Standard CBA), and offers a members-only job board as a benefit. The union also sells merchandise to support its mission. Together, these services form a comprehensive offering for organizing, representing, and supporting workers in the campaign and political industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• In first year (2018), won better contracts at 28 campaign workplaces
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Union Wave Signers (40+ Campaigns)coreOthersPolitical campaigns and candidates at federal and state levels who have signed the Card Check Agreement, committing to voluntarily recognize their campaign workers' union. Includes U.S. House candidates, gubernatorial candidates, lieutenant governor candidates, state senate candidates, state house candidates, city council candidates, county executive and commissioners. CWG states it is nonpartisan and will never bargain directly with employers.
• HuffPostminorOthersMedia outlet that covered CWG's founding and unionization efforts, including coverage of Randy Bryce's campaign being the first unionized political campaign.
• The InterceptminorOthersIndependent news organization that covered CWG's second unionized campaign (Jess King) and the organization's growth.
• BloombergminorOthersMajor news outlet that covered campaign workers unionizing ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
• Mother JonesminorOthersProgressive magazine covering CWG's push for Democrats to practice what they preach regarding labor rights.
• The NationminorOthersOldest continuously published magazine in the US covering CWG's unionization efforts.
• Campaigns & ElectionsminorOthersTrade publication for the political campaign industry covering Democratic consultants' efforts to boost CWG.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Teamsters: The Teamsters represent a broad cross-section of workers including freight, delivery, and public-sector employees. It is a broad incumbent that operates in the labor-organizing space with established CBA infrastructure relevant to CWG's approach, though it does not target political-campaign workers.
• Change to Win: Change to Win is an alternative labor federation coordinating unions including SEIU and Teamsters. It is a broad incumbent operating in the same labor-federation space as AFL-CIO and could provide structural alternatives for CWG-style independent unions seeking affiliation.
• AFL-CIO: AFL-CIO is the largest U.S. labor federation, overseeing 60+ affiliated unions across industries. It is a broad incumbent because it operates in the same labor-organization space as CWG and could serve as a potential umbrella/affiliation pathway, but it does not specialize in campaign workers.
• SEIU: SEIU is one of the largest U.S. unions, representing service workers including healthcare, property services, and public-sector employees. It is a broad incumbent because it operates a similar model of organizing low-wage workers but does not focus on the political-campaign niche CWG serves.

Direct peers

• NewsGuild-CWA: NewsGuild-CWA is the union representing journalists, newsroom staff, and communications professionals. It is a direct peer because it organizes a specialized, project-driven professional workforce with similar power asymmetries, using collective bargaining and advocacy to address wage and working-condition exploitation—closely mirroring CWG's model for campaign workers.
• UNITE HERE: UNITE HERE represents hotel, gaming, and food-service workers in low-wage, high-exploitation environments. It is a direct peer because it organizes a similarly low-wage, transient workforce using card-check/neutrality agreements, mirroring CWG's labor-relations tactics applied to a different industry vertical.
• IATSE: IATSE represents behind-the-scenes entertainment workers across film, TV, and live events on short, project-based engagements. It is a direct peer because of the parallel between its episodic, project-cycle employment model and political-campaign work, and its reliance on master agreements to standardize conditions across many short-duration employers.
• SAG-AFTRA: SAG-AFTRA represents performers, broadcasters, and media professionals on project-based, short-term contracts. It is a direct peer because its members face the same transient-workforce, employer-discretion dynamics as campaign workers, and it relies on standardized agreements and majority-signup recognition mechanisms.
• Writers Guild of America: WGA represents film, television, and news writers under a standardized MBA contract. It is a direct peer because it organizes transient, project-based professional workers using a pre-built master agreement and strike leverage, paralleling CWG's Standard CBA card-check approach for campaign staff.

Others

• Working America: Working America is the AFL-CIO's community affiliate organizing non-union workers outside the workplace. It is an adjacent/related organization in the labor-movement ecosystem that shares CWG's progressive political alignment but does not directly compete in campaign-worker representation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cwg_workers
• Instagraminstagram.com/cwg_workers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/campaignworkersguild

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about campaign workers guild