Unions of Our Own
by Daniel Gross
Haymarket Books
An actionable, inviting, and confidence-boosting philosophy on how to tackle problems in your workplace—and win
Our workplaces urgently need to get better but change can feel murky or even impossible
We imagine a different world, too, but billionaires are doing their best to make things worse
In Unions of Our Own, veteran labor organizer, coauthor of Labor Law for the Rank & Filer, and cofounder of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union Daniel Gross provides a radically new, step-by-step framework for workers who want to dramatically improve their jobs—and dream of bigger changes too. It reveals and puts into your hands the eight fundamental building blocks of a union that meets your needs and values.
Through proven tools, Gross’s personal stories from campaigns, vivid history, and real-world examples, Unions of Our Own offers a practical, accessible, and empowering philosophy on how to design your own union and win.
The 8 Building Blocks of a Union
from Unions of Our Own
CHOOSE YOUR PEOPLE
Constituency
WHAT’S MOST PAINFUL?
Problem
SOLVE PROBLEMS WITH SOLIDARITY
Solution
POWER TO WIN
Strategy
HOLD GAINS, DEFINE CHARACTER
Mechanism
A UNION YOU CONTROL
Structure
RESOURCES TO WIN
Funding
MEASURE YOUR MODEL
Metrics
Praise for Unions of Our Own
“
I have known Daniel Gross for over twenty years, and I have never met a more indefatigable and stubbornly optimistic organizer. Finally, Daniel has brought us Unions of Our Own, an immensely practical and accessible guide for building workers’ power. Daniel’s vast experience organizing with workers comes through in every page of a book that is sure to become an instant classic in an era of increasingly chaotic politics and economics. If your workplace lacks a union, this is the book to read with your fellow workers. If you are already a union member: read this book to expand your ranks and build more power from the bottom up.
— Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook
“
Unions of Our Own is the book so many of us have been waiting for. If you are fed up at work and furious about the direction of this economy and the world, this book offers a new framework and philosophy for building real power within our workplaces to change our working conditions, and the world. Filled with concrete examples of worker-driven organizing, the book puts out there some of the key moves we made in building Rideshare Drivers United, a twenty-thousand-member, driver-centered organization. Daniel Gross has written both a compelling story and a clear road map for confronting authoritarianism—on the job and beyond. Read it with your coworkers. Then start building!
—Nicole Moore, Lyft driver and president of Rideshare Drivers United
“
Daniel Gross shares with us what he has learned through decadesof experience as a worker and labor organizer. Thought provoking, in-depth, based on values.
—Alice Lynd, coeditor of Rank & File: Personal Histories by Working Class Organizers
“
With clarity and focus Daniel Gross is putting the tools to actually win directly into workers’ hands. Through clear and precise steps this book gives workers the framework to dream big and then go out and achieve it. It’s an important read for new and seasoned organizers, a toolkit I dreamed of having when my union started organizing.
—Rocky Prull, founding organizer of Blue Bottle Independent Union
“
Unions of Our Own is the book I wish we had when we were starting our union campaign. It’ll be right there with us as we train new organizers and beat back our Nestlé-owned employer. Internationalist, committed to workplace democracy, and unlike anything available to workers today, this book wrests back the full scope of unionism where it belongs: to those of us on the shop floor. Daniel Gross has written a practical guide for union organizing that is committed to a radical vision of how unions can transform society. Essential reading for anyone fed up with work and considering a member-controlled union to do something about it.
—Alex “Gonzo” Pyne, barista and president of Blue Bottle Independent Union
“
The publication of Unions of Our Own is very timely given the relentless attacks on the working class by a now more emboldened capitalist class. I bear witness to Daniel’s years on the frontline—which are reflected in these pages—learning, strategizing and winning with some of the most marginalized workers.
—Donald Anthonyson, immigrant rights leader and former director of Families for Freedom
“
Workers are distressed. The system is rigged against us and we know it. Fortunately, Daniel Gross lays out a path for what is to be done and who can do it. Us! We are the ones we’ve been waiting for—but only when we are organized on the job because that’s where we have the most power. Gross explains how and why we must build democratic unions from the ground up. Gross’s book, clearly written and based on decades of experience helping workers organize, identifies what we can and must do.
—Peter Cole, author of Dockworker Power and Wobblies on the Waterfront
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Gross
Daniel Gross has been doing worker-led organizing and union-building for more than two decades, accompanying thousands of workers creating unions in their workplaces. Together with his co-workers, Gross helped found the groundbreaking IWW Starbucks Workers Union, which held power for over a decade at the coffee giant and helped revitalize a more inclusive labor movement.
Gross has practiced labor law from a rank & file perspective and served on the board of the National Lawyers Guild and the Food Chain Workers Alliance. He is also the founding director of Brandworkers, the first worker center of immigrant workers in the metro New York local food manufacturing industry.
With Staughton Lynd, he is the co-author of the classic Labor Law for the Rank & Filer:Building Solidarity While Staying Clear of the Law as well as the graphic pamphlet, Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks, with illustrator Tom Keough. He is based in New York City.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Solidarity Union Network
SUN is hosting companion trainings for Unions of Our Own, helping make available tools, and offering confidential, one-on-one support for dealing with problems at work