BigTent hosted Karen Nussbaum, founding director of Working America, and Joseph Loyacono Bustos, Volunteer Coordinator.
Working America is the largest non-union organization in the U.S. With over 4 million members nationwide, working people get a chance to be heard in the political debate and make positive changes in their communities. Working America has helped increase the minimum wage in Ohio, save thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania and Colorado, protect workers’ rights in Minnesota and get more health insurance coverage for kids in Oregon. Across the country, they are taking the lead on the issues that matter to the 99%. They unite working people on commonsense issues of economic justice—and they win.
OUR SPEAKERS
Karen Nussbaum, the founding director of Working America and the Working America Education Fund, has been fighting for the rights of working people for more than four decades. She was a founder and director of 9to5, the National Association of Working Women and president of District 925, SEIU. Karen served as the director of the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau during the first Clinton Administration, the highest seat in the federal government devoted to women’s issues. Prior to taking on the leadership of Working America, Karen served as a special assistant to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.
Joseph Loyacono Bustos (Joe) is an organizer with Working America based in Washington, D.C. He has a personal and professional passion for making politics more attuned to the needs of working people and continues to pursue that goal by involving volunteers in the process of connecting with working-class voters. His time at Working America has been spent expanding and improving volunteer opportunities, specifically Working America’s personalized letter program. Joe continues to believe in the need to fight and advocate for a political and economic system that benefits all people.