{
"type": "rich",
"version": "1.0",
"provider_name": "Action Network",
"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
"html": "",
"author_name": "Working Families Party and Working Families Power",
"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/working-families",
"title": "Activist Agreement",
"thumbnail_url": "https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg",
"description": "Introduction The Working Families Party is the party for the working class of all races. We all work hard to take care of our families and contribute to our communities. We deserve leaders that will fight for us. But some politicians are teaming up with greedy corporations to drive up the cost of everything from groceries to housing, childcare and college–and they’re attacking our basic freedoms like abortion rights and the right to vote. The Working Families Party is regular people coming together to fight for a country that puts working people first. WFP is made up of our individual members, along with partners in unions, community organizations, and social movements. Today, hundreds of thousands of people are part of the Working Families Party, in every part of the country. There are many ways for people to be active in the party locally and nationally, including in our state chapters and local branches. We ask all WFP Activists to review our North Star, Values, and Community Agreements carefully and affirm your commitment to them before joining in an Activist role. This document is for WFP Activists, which we define as WFP Members who opt in to volunteering with the Party through a variety of national and/or local teams, Wolf Packs, voter contact tactics, and campaigns. Members of governing bodies of the Party, such as the National Committee, State Committees, chartered Chapters, or Organizing Committees may have separate rules and norms that guide membership in those bodies. Our North Star To build our own party on top of the two-party system in the United States—a party that puts working people first. Together, we can change our political system into one that answers to working people, not the wealthy and well-connected. Core Values We believe that no matter where we come from or what we look like, most of us want the same things. We want to earn enough to live comfortably, spend time with our families, and leave a better future for our kids. We want housing we can afford, safe neighborhoods, and health care that won’t bankrupt us. But the richest people on Earth—and the politicians who serve them—are making these things impossible. They’ve hiked our rents, cut our health care, and—despite all our hard work—don’t even pay us enough to be able to afford groceries or prescription drugs. They want us to blame immigrants or obsess over someone’s gender, because it’s easier to pick our pockets clean when we’re busy arguing with one another. The Working Families Party is regular people coming together across differences to win a country and economy that works for all of us. We’re a party that fights for workers over bosses and people over the powerful. We want an America that puts working people first. Community Agreements We are the “they” We are the Party. We’re all here because we’re supposed to be here. We all have something to offer and we are building this organization together. This agreement leads us to do things like... Speaking about WFP in the first person, using "we/us/our" When we have an organizing idea to propose, asking how we can organize with other members around that idea Taking on new challenges when we see organizational gaps that we have the strengths, skills, and knowhow to tackle Asking questions when we don't understand what is happening, how something works, or who manages a task/project/function because we understand it is not only "their" work it is "ours" Participating in constructive and meaningful ways when requested to do so by our WFP comrades and responding to requests for support that we have the actual capacity to meet Posting in the Party channels (such as Slack) to organize around WFP actions or activities that WFP has endorsed; not to promote products and projects for profit or that WFP has endorsed against. We Hold Compassion For One Another We hold ourselves, each other, and the organization with compassion & care. This agreement leads us to do things like... Asking a member for an explanation of their motives and intentions when facing conflict with them rather than assuming we know Asking a member to share unseen challenges and other responsibilities that may have led to perceived shortcomings in their behavior or performance Supporting fellow WFP members when they need time off for restoration and recuperation because we know that we all work hard and give so much Asking for and listening to our fellow WFP members’ opinions and ideas whether they are new members or veteran leaders We Are Race-Forward We recognize that racialized power and privilege plays out in many ways in our society - including in progressive, movement spaces - and we do not shy away from naming when we see it. We know everyone - even good, well-meaning people - can intentionally and unintentionally cause harm to others, and that includes racialized harm. This agreement leads us to do things like.. Paying attention to whether we have surrounded ourselves only with those who have similar levels of power and privilege as us in our day to day work Noticing who is taking up space in meeting discussion, event facilitation, and decision-making conversations, and offering ways to engage a variety of members' voices Proactively reaching out to fellow WFP members with less power and privilege than ourselves to include them in professional, leadership, and development opportunities we learn about Using the agreements of Always Learning, Principled Struggle, and Having Compassion to hold ourselves accountable to being actively race forward on a daily basis Listening, believing, and acknowledging when fellow WFP members with less proximity to whiteness than us say that they are feeling a racialized harm from our action We Are Always Learning We approach the work with curiosity and self-awareness, recognizing that no one knows everything and that we all have room to grow. We value learning from each other, from our communities, and from the outcomes of our work—both successes and failures. We seek out opportunities to deepen our understanding, expand our skills, and reflect on our experiences. This agreement leads us to do things like.. Asking questions when we don’t know something, rather than pretending we do Holding regular debriefs for our teams, to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, why, and what lessons we can take forward Sharing lessons from our work openly with fellow WFP members so others can grow too Thanking and listening to a fellow WFP member who call us in about the impact of our action, especially when that action perpetuates histories of oppression pertaining to race, class, gender identity, sexuality, ability, neurodiversity, etc Encouraging experimentation and iteration, understanding that mistakes are a part of the learning process We Engage in Principled Struggle Principal struggle offers us another way to struggle in which we are not being conflict avoidant or conflict aggressive but rather engaging in generative conflict: conflict that grows each of us and that creates more possibilities for what we can do in the world together. -- N'Tanya Lee and Adrienne Maree Brown We know our struggle is principled when we struggle for the sake of building deeper unity, we are honest and direct while holding compassion, we each take responsibility for our own feelings and actions, and we acknowledge that this time/place/setting may not be the container to hold what we need to work through. This agreement leads us to do things like.. Being mindful about the best setting to raise our point of conflict, the time and place that will lead toward deeper unity among fellow WFP members Approaching conflict as an opportunity to expand our capacity to be in solidarity with other fellow WFP members Taking the time to work through disagreements and clear the air with fellow WFP members rather than swallowing the stress and avoiding engagement Refraining from supporting ideas and plans and taking a "go along to get along" approach when we see that these ideas/plans would ultimately harm our fellow WFP members, ourselves, and/or our work long term Bravely stating what might be an unpopular opinion We Are Collaborative We strive to create an environment in which every WFP member has the ability to collaborate with one another. This agreement leads us to do things like.. Inviting others to join us on projects and not hoarding the workload Giving or sharing credit for good ideas and success presented by our fellow WFP members in private and in public Truly listening to our fellow WFP members when they share ideas Giving others the opportunity to grow and lead when we can Humbling ourselves enough to ask fellow WFP members with expertise, capacity, and experience we lack for guidance and support We Keep One Another Safe With all the powers that are against us, we must do our part to keep one another and our Party as safe as possible. To this end, Activists agree to… Email epic@workingfamilies.org to report any physical or digital threats Avoid sharing any private information (confidential campaign information; private event locations; fellow volunteer or signup contact information: name, address, phone, email, etc.) that you learned while volunteering here without express written consent from the Party. Misalignment and Restoration We work together to find equitable solutions to issues that may arise. We will coach volunteers and encourage healthy communication and behavior. WFP Staff reserve the right to remove any activist who violates these community agreements. We also may suggest a process for members and activists to practice restoration in circumstances of harm, using the following steps: STEP STAGE (Bloom's Taxonomy) TASKS for Activist 1 remember Acknowledges harm caused. Commits to pause on posts for a time of reflection 2 understand Deepens understanding of harm. Can explain and describe nuances of the harm. 3 apply/analyze Selects, on their own, a resource from list to read/reflect and apply to their incident. Organizes their thoughts to present to team. 4 evaluate Shares thoughts with Staff/Leader for feedback and evaluation before posting in channel. 5 create Posts an accountability post in channel, with a shared link to these community agreements for everyone’s benefit. Please email member@workingfamilies.org for any remaining questions.",
"url": "https://act.workingfamilies.org/forms/activist-agreement"
}