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"Why was it so hard to see ourselves as people who might need a union? Gramsci had observed that any individual’s personality was “strangely composite,” made up of a mixture of beliefs, thoughts, and ideas."

This was the paragraph I chose from the reading since it explains well as to why people don't see themselves enter a union; it depends on the individual themselves which can be all of us and our experiences since depending on what we believe we can either be supporting Union causes, Indifferent to Union causes or Opposing Unions in general.

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“We were all too busy, but the too-busyness wasn’t really about time, or at least not only. Being too busy meant people didn’t see why the union was worth making time for..."

I chose this paragraph as it really made me pause. I’ve definitely been the person who says, “I’m too busy,” but after reading this essay I question how often I’ve used that as an excuse to avoid taking action or risks. The idea that many people don’t feel like they matter for example their time or voice won’t make a difference really hit close to home. I’ve felt that way too, especially in situations where the stakes seemed so big that my small effort felt pointless. This paragraph made me think about how I could better convince myself and others that our contributions, even small ones, do matter.

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“We were all too busy, but the too-busyness wasn’t really about time, or at least not only. Being too busy meant people didn’t see why the union was worth making time for. Your job as an organizer was to find out what it was that people wanted to be different in their lives, and then to persuade people that it mattered whether they decided to do something about it. This is not the same thing as persuading people that the thing itself matters: they usually know it does. The task is to persuade people that they matter: they know they usually don’t.”

I chose this paragraph because it highlights a crucial aspect of collective action and the need to make individuals feel that their participation and efforts matter. To make them realize that this is not just about convincing people of the importance of the cause but also about making them believe in their own significance and power to create a change. This is very similar to the world where people often feel insignificant and overwhelmed by their individual struggles making it difficult to see the value in collective efforts.

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“No one ever spat in my face, but the rest I recognize. Though I didn’t always dread organizing, I often woke up with a pit in my stomach, thinking of the phone calls I’d have to make that day and the people I was supposed to catch in the hallway after class. If anything, it was worse: the people I was talking to weren’t strangers on the street, but friends and colleagues. It hurt when they stopped picking up the phone or looked away in the halls. Why on earth did I keep doing it?”

I chose this paragraph because I feel like it gives me a better understanding by showing me the social struggle that organizers face. They want to make a positive impact but can be socially rejected along the way, even with people they know. It shows me the dedication it takes to be an organizer.

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“Being an organizer is like being a comrade in some ways but different in others. The people you organize alongside may be comrades, but the people you are organizing often aren’t; the point of organizing, after all, is to reach beyond the people who are already on your side and win over as many others as you can. So you can’t assume the people you organize share your values; in fact, you should usually assume they don’t. This means that unlike comrades, organizers aren’t interchangeable. It matters who you are."

I chose this paragraph because my interpretation was when trying to convince comrades who share the same values as you is easier than trying to convince everyone who is organizing and you can’t assume they all are interested in the same views as you. People are likely to listen to someone they trust and respect even if they don’t share their views.

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"Realizing that it was not enough for people to like me was revelatory. I had to learn to be more comfortable with antagonism and disagreement, with putting a choice in front of people and letting them make it instead of smiling away tension and doing the work myself. I had to expect more from other people."

I choose this paragraph because it demonstrates how simply being liked is not sufficient for change. Organizers need to learn to be comfortable with disagreements and realize that they're helping others help themselves.

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Often, however, you have to learn to speak differently — to speak as a different version of yourself. This means discarding many of your most familiar habits. Like many women, for a while I managed to get by on likability; I was already good at a certain kind of emotional labor. But as the asks got bigger, I hit a wall: people might spend thirty seconds signing a petition they didn’t think mattered much because they liked me, but they weren’t going to piss off their boss just to stay in my good graces. So I had to learn something else. “An axiom of organizers,” writes Jane McAlevey, “is that every good organizing conversation makes everyone at least a little uncomfortable.” The most awkward part is what McAlevey calls “the long uncomfortable silence” — the moment when you make an ask and let someone think about their answer. For a long time my biggest weakness was my tendency to shy away from making sure people knew that winning the things they said they wanted was up to them. Too often I tried to gloss over the discomfort instead of letting it sit. It was a lot easier to talk about our brilliant plan or how much support we had from our allies than to insist with the people I was organizing that whether we won our own union or not depended on them. As a result, people saw me as the union person who would deliver information and lay out a plan and keep them posted; they did not see themselves as union people who were also responsible for helping to win the things they said they wanted. McAlevey would call this a shortcut; we called it protecting people from the organizing. To soften the ask seems compassionate, but like any other protective measure, it condescends, and like any other shortcut, it makes things harder in the long run.

I chose this paragraph because it stood out to me and we had already started talking about the author that she talks about.

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We were all too busy, but the too-busyness wasn’t really about time, or at least not only. Being too busy meant people didn’t see why the union was worth making time for. Your job as an organizer was to find out what it was that people wanted to be different in their lives, and then to persuade people that it mattered whether they decided to do something about it. This is not the same thing as persuading people that the thing itself matters: they usually know it does. The task is to persuade people that they matter: they know they usually don’t.

This was the paragraph I chose because it made me think that sometimes people feel like they don't matter but I think they just don't really know their rights that's why they just don't want to join the union. Others might don't have time but if they want to see a change they will try to have time for the people who will join them because together they are more stronger.

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"Organizing relationships can be utopian: at their best, they offer the feminist dream of intimacy outside of romance or family. In the union, I loved people I did not know very well. In meetings I was often overcome with awe and affection at the courage and wisdom of the people there with me. I came to count many of the people I organized with as my dearest friends. When I needed help, there were always people I could call, people who would always pick up the phone, people I could and did talk to about anything. These relationships often served as a source of care and support in a world with too little of those things. But they were not only friendships, and not only emotional ballast. The people I looked to for support would also push me when it was called for, as I would them; that, I knew, was the deal."

I have choose this text because it highlights the beauty and complexity of organizing relationships. It describes how these connections can offer deep intimacy and support, becoming a source of care in a world that often lacks it. The author appreciates the courage and wisdom of those she organizes with, forming bonds that go beyond typical friendships. These relationships are not only about emotional support but also about mutual growth and accountability.

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“I’m not cut out for this,” people often say when they struggle with organizing. No one is: one isn’t born an organizer, but becomes one. It was a strange feeling, after a life spent chasing individual achievement, to want something that I could only have if other people wanted it too."

I chose this paragraph because It shows the struggle of being an organizer when other people do not put themselves first by not wanting to fight and join others who are in the same position as them.

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"Your job as an organizer was to find out what it was that people wanted to be different in their lives, and then to persuade people that it mattered whether they decided to do something about it."

I picked this part because it shows how important it is for an organizer to understand what people want and to help them see that their actions can make a difference. It reminds us that change starts with people feeling valued and motivated to act.