National Labor Federation

The National Labor Federation (NATLFED) is a network of local community associations, run exclusively by volunteers, that claim to organize workers excluded from collective bargaining protections by U.S. labor law. Specifically, under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Although the groups affiliated with NATLFED have denied having a political affiliation, NATLFED is described by some former participants as a front for an organization called the Provisional Communist Party of the United States, who have, in the past, advocated for an armed overthrow of the government. NATLFED consists of several dozen mutual benefit associations and their organizers who conduct canvassing in working-class neighborhoods and coordinate assistance programs operated by members of the associations. According to literature printed by the groups, these benefit programs entitle members to emergency food, clothing, medical and dental care, legal advice, child care, and job referrals.Press accounts of the groups affiliated with NATLFED sometimes praise their social work, sometimes raise concerns about their lack of transparency, and sometimes condemn the organizations for harsh treatment of volunteers.