United Workers Association, funded by Catholic grants, linked to abortion, trans surgeries, and socialism, raising concerns about misuse of Church funds.
Newsroom (13/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) A new report from the Lepanto Institute has uncovered troubling ties between the United Workers Association (UWA), a Baltimore-based organization, and advocacy for abortion, transgender ideologies, and socialist movements, despite receiving significant funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). The report alleges that over the past two decades, UWA has been awarded 16 grants totaling $760,000 from the CCHD, including a $25,000 grant for the 2024-2025 funding year, raising questions about the oversight of Catholic funds.
A History of Controversial Advocacy
According to the report, UWA has a long history of supporting causes that conflict with Catholic moral teachings. In 2011, the organization was identified as a signatory on Equality Maryland’s website, opposing bans on same-sex marriage. Despite assurances from CCHD officials that this was an unauthorized act by a low-level employee, subsequent findings revealed that UWA’s board formally decided to partner with Equality Maryland, a group that actively lobbied for same-sex marriage.
The report also highlights UWA’s role in fueling unrest in 2020 by calling for the defunding of the Baltimore Police Department during a period of heightened gun violence in the city. Between June 5 and July 5, 2020, Baltimore recorded 292 incidents of gun violence, yet UWA posted multiple statements and videos on social media platforms, including X, explicitly advocating for police defunding.
Proxy Organizations and Radical Agendas
More recently, the Lepanto Institute’s investigation revealed that UWA is operating through two proxy organizations—Healthcare is a Human Right – Maryland (HHR-MD) and Put People First – PA (PPF-PA)—both of which are accused of promoting abortion, transgender healthcare, and socialist ideologies.
Healthcare is a Human Right – Maryland
Founded in 2012 by UWA alongside Healthcare-NOW! Maryland and Physicians for a National Health Program–Maryland, HHR-MD advocates for a single-payer healthcare system in Maryland. The report cites multiple instances where HHR-MD has endorsed abortion as a human right. On January 23, 2019, the group shared an article from the Communist-run publication Jacobin advocating for abortion coverage under Medicare. Other posts from 2018 and 2019 declared abortion rights as human rights, called bans on abortion unconstitutional, and celebrated legislative efforts to include abortion and “gender-affirming care” in Medicare for All proposals.
On March 12, 2025, UWA itself urged supporters to sign a letter opposing Medicaid cuts, specifically citing the inclusion of “gender-affirming care” as a reason for opposition, signaling its alignment with transgender advocacy.
Put People First – PA
PPF-PA, established in 2012 with UWA as its fiscal sponsor, has received $584,307 from UWA between 2020 and 2022, according to UWA’s tax filings. The report alleges that PPF-PA is also deeply engaged in promoting abortion and transgender ideologies. In its Keystone News newsletter, PPF-PA lamented that Medicaid expansion in Pennsylvania does not cover abortion services, framing universal healthcare as a solution to this gap. The group has also marched in support of Planned Parenthood, with members speaking at events advocating for “reproductive justice,” a term often associated with abortion access.
PPF-PA’s advocacy extends to transgender issues, including public funding for sex-change surgeries. On June 11, 2023, PPF-PA co-hosted an event titled “Season of Jubilee: Trans Healthcare is a Human Right,” where speakers testified that “gender-affirming and sexual healthcare” are part of divine justice. Additional posts from 2016 and 2023 celebrated Pennsylvania regulations banning exclusions of transgender healthcare and highlighted Medicaid’s role in facilitating sex-change operations.
Ties to Socialism
The report further accuses UWA and its affiliates of ties to socialist and Marxist organizations, notably the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which is under investigation for possible connections to an assassination attempt on Charlie Kirk. PPF-PA has co-hosted events with PSL, including Medicaid marches in 2020 and 2021, and a 2024 rally in support of Palestine. The group has also thanked socialist organizations like Socialist Alternative Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America for co-sponsoring events.
UWA’s own activities reinforce these connections. After 2008, UWA partnered with the Baltimore Housing Roundtable to create a Leadership School, where sessions discussed Karl Marx’s revolutionary ideas. A 2019 post by Nicole Fabricant, co-founder of another CCHD grantee, confirmed that the school explored “how to sow the seeds to resistance” through Marxist principles.
Questions of Oversight
The Lepanto Institute argues that UWA’s activities represent a gross violation of Catholic moral and social teachings, questioning how the organization has continued to receive CCHD funding. The report criticizes the CCHD’s “thorough vetting process,” suggesting that due diligence has failed to prevent the allocation of Catholic funds to groups advocating for abortion, transgender ideologies, and socialism.
“This organization should never have qualified for a single penny from the Catholic Church,” the report concludes, calling for the “complete and permanent closure” of the CCHD. The findings have sparked outrage among some Catholics, with comments on the Lepanto Institute’s website expressing shock and disappointment at the misuse of Church funds.
A Call for Accountability
As the Catholic Church grapples with the implications of the report, the Lepanto Institute’s findings underscore the need for greater transparency and accountability in the distribution of CCHD grants. With $760,000 allocated to UWA over 20 years, the question remains: how many other funded organizations may be operating in opposition to the Church’s teachings?
For more information on UWA’s funding and activities, visit the Lepanto Institute’s report at lepantoin.org/wp/uwa/.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Lepanto Institute
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