Working America

Overview

Mission

Working America unites working people who don’t have a union on the job. With more than 5 million members in urban and suburban communities, we work together for good jobs, a fair economy and a democracy that represents all of us.

What it reported doing in 2024

Outreach, education, member recruitment and mobilization: through strength in numbers, provide a collective voice to approximately 5 million members and 40 million working people on economic issues and concerns; empower working families in their communities and in the nation through strength in numbers; promote the freedom to organize in the workplace and bargain collectively.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
200263611
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Washington, DC, US
Phone
202-637-5137
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 97
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 96.9%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $79.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 12 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 96.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $79.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $441K · 15 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $904K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH H SHULER (SECRETARY-TREASURER): $441,049 total reported compensation
  • FRED REDMOND (DIRECTOR): $386,229 total reported compensation
  • AUSAF QARNI (DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND A): $260,331 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.