“Against the seemingly limitless power of corporations and billionaires, and the cruelty of a government turning against its own people, there are workers everywhere standing up and fighting back. I’ve known Ellen David Friedman for many years. She knows what it takes to organize and give people real hope. This book contains that experience and helps anyone who is building power in the workplace—step by step, facing endless challenges—to keep going.”
—Senator Bernie Sanders
“While many organizing books focus narrowly on techniques, Keep Going hits on key fundamentals putting questions of union democracy and power front and center. It combines practical advice with fundamentals insights on organizing.”
—Joe Burns, labor attorney/negotiator and author of Class Struggle Unionism
“The book Keep Going captures the need for humility in organizing, especially when things get hard. Through storytelling, Ellen shares organizing lessons that are in response to common organizing questions and challenges and that provoke thought about the processes of organizing often taken for granted or forgotten.”
—Diamonté Brown, president of the Baltimore Teachers Union
“Ellen David Friedman has gifted us all with this essential book on organizing! We’ve all been there as organizers, hit with obstacles that seem insurmountable on our journey to build power in our workplaces and in our lives. This text gets right to the point, addressing what it will take to shift our mindsets and the culture of oppressive systems to ones that beam with hope and real tools. Every element is taken from stories in the field with lessons that carry over to help us all. Our rank-and-file caucus cannot wait to begin our book group!”
—Jia Lee, Movement of Rank-and-File Educators caucus/United Federation of Teachers, NYC
“Each page of Keep Going will help you gain and build momentum when you feel stuck. It’s easy to get frustrated, to complain or take a step back from your union or a campaign. I’ve been there. But we must lean into our problems, organize, keep going, and keep an eye on the horizon. This book equips you to push through your frustrations, anxieties, fears, and burnout. Every real-world story delivers an organizing principle that will help you build collective power with your colleagues and create a democratic union along the way.”
—Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild-CWA
