Secrets of a Successful Organizer

by Alexandra Bradbury, Mark Brenner, Jane Slaughter

Are there problems where you work? Maybe your pay is too low, conditions are unsafe, or your boss has it in for someone you work with... and you’re ready to do something about it.

This book will show you how to fight back where you work and win. You’ll learn how to identify the key issues in your workplace, build campaigns to tackle them, anticipate management’s tricks and traps, and inspire your co-workers to stand together despite their fears. It’s a step-by-step guide to building power on the job.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Labor, Activism, Theory, Social Justice

265 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bible of organizing is, of course, Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals; that said, the greatest how-to manual is Secrets of a Successful Organizer. Like the actual Bible, it’s a book to keep by your bedside to read and reread. Whether you’re in a moribund union or an active one, whether you’re in a union at all, Secrets of a Successful Organizer will show you how to achieve a fair, dignified workplace and, even more importantly, how to achieve social change.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

brb going to help organize my workplace

[Abby Pugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

v helpful and practical — helps with both big picture and day to day labor organizing and campaigns. would def recommend

[Jack Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic book for learning the basics of labor organizing (these lessons can be used anywhere, not just in the workplace). it runs you through how to build a campaign and how to maintain those links you create with your coworkers. if you have problems at work and want to fix them, read this book!

[Mo Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

ive been pretending ive read this for like a year

[Shaun Richman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read this book alone.

While I could quibble with an item here or there, this is a very good distillation of the consensus best practices for workplace organizing, particularly with a view towards revitalizing existing union shops.

[Galina Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok! Plenty of good advice in it and I like the bullseye model especially (including applying that to other similar problem spaces). Just felt a little light on content, somehow. Quick to breeze through.

[Soph Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of pithy lessons and case studies about shop-floor + union organizing, but there’s lots of important lessons no matter where you’re doing your work.

“From Mother Jones to Martin Luther King, Jr., the best organizers have been reviled as troublemakers, because they were bringing people together and building strength in numbers that threatened the power of the few.”

[Gracie Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource for any organizer. Many great things to pull and discuss with fellow union members. I will be sure to go back to this in the future for guidance.

[Dani Kass · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me so fired up to organize. A lot of it was review, and it really interesting to learn how things I’d picked up from union staff are rooted in such deep-seated strategy that spans decades and industries. I’d recommend this to anyone just starting to organize, and as review for anyone trying to keep their union strong. I got a ton of mobilization ideas out of it.

[Janis Yue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I will be revisiting over and over again probably. So practical and well-organized!

[Connor Moylett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful, practical guide! Very easy to read and well-structured. Will be a resource I keep going back to I think

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love unions I love the labor movement I love to Organize

[Hannah Grbic]

Very informational and has great strategies. I think, like the book said, if I didn't read it all in one sitting I would have enjoyed it more.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little handbook that serves as an introduction to organizing in the work place. Something that every union memeber or potential union member should read.

[Nato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super accessible and clear intro to the very concrete basics of union organizing. A good 101 book for new organizers.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent introduction to organizing primarily focused on contract fights and mobilizing unionized workers. The Labor Notes website also has a ton of great resources (pamphlets, handouts, etc.) that are very useful for organizing meetings. It's always great to see different materials that are used for workplace mapping and first meetings. I do wish there was more expansion on what to expect in a union busting campaign and how to prepare for organizing to fight union busters during both RC elections and issue based campaigns. Anyway- I highly recommend this book for organizers, union members, and non unionized workers since its a very easy read that has many practical uses for organizing.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic little handbook full of easy to understand examples and guides on the basics of organizing. Designed for union workers but applicable to any sort of working class organizing, not just a book of reflections, but a guide to immediate action. Highly recommended.

[amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So useful. Just gonna re-read this every year forever.

[W. Minkadrew]

Like with the book Zero to One: Notes on Startup Companies, this book might be best approached with a hypothetical example “organizing” project to reflect on as you read. Flipping through the pages, my first impression was that the perspective might be sick. I read, “It’s all about power” and “You’re different but that’s okay” and thought, “oh, this is that ungrateful management philosophy that would never uplift Jesus from enduring hell because it isn’t HIS project and HE’s such a weird relationship / contribution. This first impression was wrong, though, and a little unwell of me to have expected. The simplicity of the organizing model makes the starting point of one’s efforts easier to embrace. The book shares some good ideas. An acknowledgement of how you probably felt like you were the only one who cared if you’d tried organizing people before. The book is real. I’m enjoying it.

[Anna Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely geared more toward worker leaders than staff organizers but I really appreciated the focus on day to day nuts and bolts in this book. Most books about labor organizing tend to focus on either new organizing or contract campaigns/strikes, but this one focuses more on building strength and structure longer term which is one of the toughest things to do. This is a great resource to use for training stewards as well and has lots of stories/examples. However it’s at times a bit over simplistic and I wish there were more variety of types of workplaces represented in the examples besides the usual (teachers, nurses, factory workers).

[Jeffrey Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit misleading. It's more of a book of tips and specific advice rather than a ground up guide to organizing as I had thought it would be. It was still helpful to read through some of these pieces of advice and find that this is a guide more for experienced organizers to use as reference rather than new organizers to get started as it does not spend much time laying out how to build a solid organizing structure along with doing the day to day work of organizing itself.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent book that is easy to read, both in small chunks and large. Its target audience is mainly workers/organizers in existing unions but its lessons are so applicable to any organizer, whether it be someone organizing a union or someone not even in labor! A must-read for any and every organizer.

[Andrew Jewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent tips, although the book is more focused on providing opportunities to revitalize an already-unionized workplace than organizing from scratch, as many modern workers are forced to do. However, many of the lessons it contains are still applicable. A good read if you're feeling worn down by poor working conditions.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid intro to workplace organizing, although meant more for someone organizing their own workplace as opposed to a union organizer with many workplaces. I appreciated the step by step approach. also I was shocked to find there's a picture of me in it! so there's that.

[Siobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Organizing is totally new to me so I found this incredibly helpful and lucid. So generous, too: Labornotes includes lots of checklists and handouts, which they've made available for free at labornotes.org.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for workplace-based union leaders and those who want to get involved in making change at work. The majority of this book's wisdom, tips, and strategies translate to any workplace in any country. There are only a couple short sections and references to US rights and laws.

[Jacob Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, clear, and essential reading for labour organisers, union rank-and-file, and all workers who want to see change in their workplaces. This is a real "news you can use" book, and I plan to share it among members at my local.

[Martín Q. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as the 1st book in the AEU Book Study. It's an easy read with 8 main lessons or tips on how to successfully organize your workplace. Recommended for newcomers to the concept or organizing or combating wrongs that occur in the workplace and not wanting to do it alone.

[Monica West-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy-to-read, full of examples, and inspiring. I will definitely be flipping back through this book when the work of organizing feels weighty. Already putting a lot of this to work in organizing my workplace!