Maryland Working Families was the state-level affiliate of the Working Families Party (WFP) operating in the state of Maryland. The WEP is a labor union-backed political party supportive of far-left Democratic candidates in the state of New York. ¹

The organization previously endorsed left-of-center candidates for federal, state, and local office within Maryland, along with supporting left-wing and labor union-backed causes such as a $15 hourly minimum wage, anti-school choice measures, and gun control. ²

The WFP is associated with the lobbying group Working Families Organization. As of 2025, Maryland Working Families appears to be defunct. The group’s X (formerly Twitter) account has not posted since 2019, the group’s Facebook page has not posted since 2020, and as of 2025 its webpage is no longer listed on the main WFP website. ^{3 4 5}

Issues

Minimum Wage

Maryland Working Families previously advocated for raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. As a result, they launched a two-year campaign called Raise Maryland that pressured Democrats in the House of Delegates and the State Senate to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. In February 2019, Maryland Working Families endorsed a $15 minimum wage but insisted on “a clean $15 minimum wage,” arguing that the legislation championed by left-wing lawmakers would “disproportionally affect women and workers of color and keep workers reliant on public assistance.” ^{6 7}

Paid Sick Leave

Maryland legislators passed a sick leave bill in 2018 that required businesses of more than 15 employees to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The bill was initially vetoed by Governor Larry Hogan (R), but the veto was later overridden by the Democratic-controlled legislature.  ⁸

Maryland Working Families organized activists in support for paid leave legislation despite arguments of negative impacts that the legislation has on small businesses and families, namely fewer job opportunities. ⁹

Equal Pay Legislation

Maryland Working Families, like the national Working Families Party, previously supported “equal pay” legislation to close pay disparities between men and women. As a result, Maryland Working Families advocated in favor of the “Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work Law” in 2016, as well as then-Republican Governor Larry Hogan who signed the legislation. Upon the legislation’s passing, media outlet Vox referred to the legislation as, “one of the nation’s strongest equal pay laws.” ¹⁰

Maryland Women’s Economic Security Agenda

The Maryland Women’s Economic Security Agenda was a legislative agenda produced by Maryland Working Families to advocate for government-mandated sick leave, restrictions on employers’ ability to schedule work hours, “equal pay” legislation, minimum wage increases, and government-funded childcare as necessary for the “economic security” of women in Maryland. ¹¹

Endorsements

In the 2018 gubernatorial primary, Maryland Working Families endorsed left-wing candidate and former NAACP CEO Ben Jealous for the Democratic nomination for governor. The endorsement cited his support for various left-wing causes such as a government-run healthcare, $15 dollar minimum wage, and free college programs. ¹²

Candidate Pipeline

Maryland Working Families claimed to oversee a training program for indviduals to run left-of-center political campaigns “Progressive Candidate Pipeline.” The program offered “scout trainings” or four-hour workshop for the purpose of recruiting candidates based on their strengths, candidate training, other trainings for campaign workers, and a six-month training for Baltimore City residents interested in joining boards and commissions on how to promote left-wing goals, such as restrictive zoning laws, pro-teachers-union educational agendas, minimum wage increases, and Black Lives Matter-endorsed policing practices. ¹³

Leadership

As of April 2020, Maryland Working Families website did not list any executive staff or board of directors. ¹⁴

Maryland Working Families first executive director was Charly Carter who worked in this capacity from March 2014 to April 2018. Previously, Carter was the regional political director for the Mid-Atlantic Joint Board of Workers United, a division of the Service Employees International Union. She holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a graduate degree from George Washington University. ¹⁵

1. Levy, Pema. “Bernie Sanders’ secret weapon in New York.” Mother Jones. April 18, 2016. Accessed March 27, 2017. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/04/bernie-sanders-has-secret-weapon-new-york
2. “Maryland Working Families.”. Working Families Party. Accessed April 13, 2020. https://workingfamilies.org/states/maryland/
3. “MD Working Families.” X, Accessed June 27, 2025. https://x.com/mdworkingfams
4. “Maryland Working Families.” Facebook, Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/MarylandWorkingFamilies/
5. Working Families Party, Accessed June 27, 2025. https://workingfamilies.org/
6. Dresser, Michael. ”State’s minimum-wage workers getting a raise,” Baltimore Sun. December 31, 2014. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-minimum-wage-rises-20141231-story.html#page=1
7. ”Clean 15 Minimum Wage for Maryland”. Working Families Party. February 26, 2019. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://workingfamilies.org/2019/02/clean-15-minimum-wage-for-maryland/
8. Dubose, Brooks. ”Maryland has a new sick leave law. Here’s how workers and business owners feel about it.” The Diamondback. February 28, 2018. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://www.dbknews.com/2018/02/28/maryland-paid-sick-leave-law-umd/
9. “700,000 Marylanders Just Got Paid Sick Days”. Working Families Party. January 12, 2018. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://workingfamilies.org/2018/01/700000-marylanders-just-got-paid-sick-days/
10. Crockett, Emily. “Maryland Has Passed One of the Nation’s Strongest Equal Pay Laws.” Vox. Vox, May 24, 2016. https://www.vox.com/2016/5/21/11715722/maryland-equal-pay-law-women.
11. ”The Maryland Women’s Economic Security Agenda.” Working Families Party. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://workingfamilies.org/pushwesa/
12. Wiggins, Ovetta. ”Maryland Working Families endorses Ben Jealous for Maryland Governor”. Washington Post. August 11, 2017. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/maryland-working-families-endorses-ben-jealous-for-maryland-governor/2017/08/11/2013ba3e-7ea3-11e7-83c7-5bd5460f0d7e_story.html
13. ”Our Progressive Candidate Pipeline”. Working Families Party. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://workingfamilies.org/mdpipline/
14. ”Contact Us”. Working Families Party. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://workingfamilies.org/states/maryland/?sec=contact
15. “Charly Carter.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 14, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/charly-carter-08581551/