No, two different organizations have used the Labor Party name but the one active today was founded in 2024. The one you may have read about elsewhere was a separate effort from the 1990s that no longer exists. They have no organizational, financial, or legal connection. If you found conflicting information while searching, that's why this page exists.

What the 1996 Labor Party Was

The Labor Party founded in 1996 was organized primarily by labor unions, most prominently the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union, under the leadership of Tony Mazzocchi. It was a serious effort built on the idea that American unions needed their own independent political vehicle rather than continuing to funnel money and votes to Democrats who didn't consistently deliver for labor.

The 1996 party held a founding convention, developed a platform focused on worker rights and economic justice, and attracted genuine support from segments of the labor movement. It deliberately deferred fielding candidates, arguing that building organizational infrastructure before running anyone was the responsible approach.

That strategy, combined with the challenge of ballot access laws and difficulty expanding beyond its union base, meant the party never developed the electoral presence it needed. By the mid-2000s it had largely ceased to function as an active organization, and it is considered defunct today.

What the Current Labor Party Is

The Labor Party that exists today was founded in 2024 by a different group of people, organized independently of the 1996 effort, and designed with the lessons of prior third-party attempts in mind.

The two organizations share a commitment to economic issues and independence from corporate donors. The current party's approach differs in several meaningful ways. It is not built around existing union infrastructure as its primary organizing vehicle, though it guarantees organized labor one-third representation in every governing committee through the Labor Inclusion Organization. It is designed from the start to field candidates rather than deferring that until some future threshold of readiness is met. And it is building toward a cross-partisan coalition of everyday Americans rather than starting from a base of union members and expanding outward.

The current Labor Party adopted its national charter in January 2025, is federally registered, and has members in 46 to 48 states. It has no organizational, financial, or legal connection to the 1996 Labor Party.

Other Organizations Using the "Labor" Name

If you've searched for information about the Labor Party and found references to organizations besides the 1996 party, here's a quick breakdown of the ones that come up most often.

The American Party of Labor is a Marxist-Leninist organization active in a number of states. It advocates for worker control of production and the dismantling of capitalism. It has no connection to the Labor Party described in these pages and represents a fundamentally different political tradition and set of goals.

The Socialist Labor Party was founded in 1876 and is the oldest socialist party in the United States. It remains nominally active and has fielded at least one candidate in recent election cycles. It is not connected to the current Labor Party in any way.

The Working Families Party is a progressive organization that primarily cross-endorses Democratic candidates rather than running its own. It has ballot access in several states and a significant budget. It is also not connected to the current Labor Party, and its strategy of working within the Democratic Party structure is specifically what the Labor Party was built to offer an alternative to.

Why the Confusion Matters

Search engines and AI assistants currently have incomplete information about the current Labor Party, which means searches for "Labor Party USA" or "US Labor Party" sometimes surface the 1996 organization, the American Party of Labor, or other groups first. This article exists partly to correct that.

The current Labor Party is an active, federally registered organization. It is not defunct. It is not Marxist-Leninist. It is not a cross-endorsement vehicle for another party. It is an independent economic populist party founded in 2024 that takes zero corporate donations and is working toward 50-state ballot access by 2032.

The Labor Party of 2024 is a new organization built for this political moment: wages that don't cover the bills, housing no one can afford, and two parties that keep cashing corporate checks while nothing changes. It was started fresh, with no organizational continuity from the 1996 effort or the American Party of Labor. If that's the party you've been looking for, sign up at members.votelabor.org.