Campaign for Economic Democracy (CED) was a California-based political action committee founded by activist and politician

Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring th ...

along with his wife, actress and activist

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

. The CED was formed to promote

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...

issues such as

rent control Rent regulation is a system of laws, administered by a court or a public authority, which aims to ensure the affordability of housing and tenancies on the rental market for dwellings. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: *Price cont ...

, reduction of

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...

, investing in

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

and fighting against

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

, advocating

labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and various anti-war initiatives. The CED helped Hayden shift his radical left image more to the center, to reduce opposition and allow him to win his political campaigns. At the same time, pressure from the CED was intended to move the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

to the left. The CED successfully passed rent control laws in 1979 in Santa Monica, and they backed the

1986 California Proposition 65 Proposition 65 (formally titled The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, and also referred to as Prop 65) is a California law passed by direct voter initiative in 1986 by a 63%–37% vote. Its goals are to protect drinking water s ...

to reduce toxins discharged into public water sources. Another goal of the CED was to support Hayden's hard-fought 1982 bid for a seat on the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

, in which he was victorious. That same year, the CED helped to elect 60 California state politicians. The CED was funded at first by money from Fonda's film career, then increasingly by the growing

Jane Fonda's Workout ''Jane Fonda's Workout'', also known as ''Workout Starring Jane Fonda'', is a 1982 exercise video by actress Jane Fonda, based on an exercise routine developed by Leni Cazden and refined by Cazden and Fonda at Workout, their exercise studio in ...

media franchise, including three exercise studios in 1979–80, the best-selling ''

Jane Fonda's Workout Book Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

'' in 1981, and in 1982 a Platinum-certified exercise record and the hugely popular home video, which developed into a series. In early 1982 before the LP and video were released, Hayden said the PAC was receiving $30,000 each month from Fonda's workout studios and book. In 1984, Fonda reduced her contributions to the CED in order to fund her own political interests, such as abortion rights and ending apartheid in South Africa. Even so, the CED reported that Fonda's Workout franchise had donated about $800,000 in 1986 – half of their annual budget. Fonda gradually pulled back from the CED, reducing her visibility due to the persistent political backlash against her 1972 visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, when she rashly posed for photos on an enemy

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

unit. Hayden saw poll results showing that negative feelings for Fonda among voters were probably holding back his political rise. The CED disbanded in July 1986 to be replaced by Hayden's Campaign California using the same headquarters and staff, but widening to state and national aspirations.

References

{{reflist 1976 establishments in the United States 1986 disestablishments in the United States Organizations based in California Organizations established in 1976 Organizations disestablished in 1986 Progressive organizations in the United States United States political action committees