You Don't Have to Be Unionized to Be United | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"The labor of this kind of organizing was invisible and deeply exhausting. In a precarious workplace, where a so-called 'performance review' could amount to job loss, organizing meant building a bridge while standing on it."

"If one person raised a concern alone, it could be dismissed or punished. But if several of us spoke together, the conversation had to change."

"We documented everything, turning our shared frustration into a record of how the workplace actually functioned. One coworker created a spreadsheet comparing our scheduled hours with the hours we were actually working on program deliverables and grant reports."

"We started small, in the margins of the workday. Quiet lunches in the park turned into encrypted group chats."

Organizing began in a nonprofit setting where employees faced shifting deadlines and a lack of communication. Initial discussions focused on basic workplace dignity, such as advance notice of schedules. The fear of retaliation loomed large in a nonunionized environment, making collective action essential. By documenting shared frustrations and collaborating on issues, employees aimed to create a more equitable workplace. This process involved tracking hours worked versus scheduled hours and sharing important communications to build a case for change.

Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.