Political Action & Endorsements

The Western New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO has a mission to improve the lives of and increase the power for working families, bring fairness and dignity to the workplace and secure social equity.

We are working to build a strong, diverse, free and democratic labor movement in order to give a political voice to workers in our area. We fight for a public policy agenda at all levels of government which benefits all working families, both union and non-union. We are active in our community and strive to create a broad, progressive coalition for social and economic justice.

As a federation representing more than 140 different affiliates and approximately 100,000 union members in WNY, our political process is focused on consensus and unity. Our members represent all party affiliations and are deeply involved in demanding budgets, policies, and programs from our elected officials that meet the needs of working families.

If you are a candidate for public office at the town, city, county, state, or federal level and believe in our mission, let's work together to fight for the working class!

Requesting an Endorsement: Candidates requesting the endorsement of the WNYALF or one of its Central Labor Councils must submit a formal, written request for endorsement to the WNYALF or the appropriate CLC. Requests should include the candidate's background, contact information, and the office they are running for. Letters can be sent to the WNYALF at 2421 Main St. Suite 120, Buffalo, NY 14214.

All candidates who request an endorsement will be given the opportunity to interview with federation and affiliate leaders. Interviews are scheduled at the discretion of WNYALF leadership, and candidates are strongly encouraged to make themselves available for their scheduled timeslot.

Endorsement Process: Once endorsement interviews are completed, each of our affiliates is given the opportunity to vote on a weighted basis.

• For local offices, endorsement decisions are made by the applicable Central Labor Council (Buffalo, Dunkirk, Jamestown, or Niagara-Orleans). Affiliates vote according to their weighted membership within the CLC's jurisdiction.
• For state and federal offices, the WNYALF submits a formal recommendation for a candidate’s endorsement to the NYS AFL-CIO, who makes the final determination to endorse candidates at the NYS COPE Convention.
• For judicial offices, the WNYALF appoints a Judicial Candidate Interview Committee to review all endorsement requests. The JCIC conducts candidate interviews and then makes recommendations for endorsement to the WNYALF Executive Council, which has final say.

Any candidate must receive more than two-thirds (66.7%+) support from voting affiliates in order to receive an endorsement from the WNYALF, its CLCs, or the NYS AFL-CIO. At the conclusion of affiliate voting, all candidates will be notified whether or not they have been endorsed.

Many of our affiliates also conduct their own endorsement processes. We encourage candidates requesting the WNYALF's endorsement to contact our individual affiliates and seek direct endorsements as well.