In 2021, Derrick Palmer cofounded the Amazon Labor Union with Chris Smalls, who’d been fired by Amazon for organizing a walkout of Staten Island warehouse workers in 2020, and both have been at the center of the action since those same workers scored a historic victory against the company in 2022. In his debut, Handbook for the Revolution: Building a More Perfect Union for the Twenty-First Century (Auwa, May), Palmer goes behind the scenes of the ALU, sharing the playbook that guided the workers and the tactics they used to take back power from one of the largest corporations on the planet.

What inspired you to write a handbook, rather than a memoir, about your organizing experience?

Chris Smalls’s book When the Revolution Comes is a memoir, and it didn’t make sense for both of us to write memoirs. Being that I’m still an Amazon associate, I thought it was only right that I dive deep into my perspective of organizing from the inside. Everything that we’ve done has been documented through videos and documentaries, but there are people who want to sit down and really digest what you’re saying. This guide, I think, is something that can get a wider audience. I wanted it to be something that you could fit in a small bag.

Your objective is to shed light on the everyday challenges of union work. What are some key takeaways?

Other Amazon warehouses are starting to unionize or in the process of unionizing, and workers around the world are motivated by the ALU. It felt necessary to give them knowledge from a group of us who were able to create a movement. I want people to understand how important it is to stand up and make change. Amazon has a playbook. The bosses are going make it uncomfortable for organizers inside facilities to operate. They’re going to relay those messages to the area managers, whom we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. They’re going crack down on us being in groups and talking among one another. They’re heavy on surveillance. Plus, Amazon is 24 hours. They never close. You have to have a nonstop mentality, to help workers out at all times. This is something that can drain you. You just have to remind yourself what the larger picture is.

You’re still working for Amazon and actively organizing with the ALU. How did you account for that while writing?

I didn’t want to touch on the infighting amongst union members, because, ultimately, I would say it’s counterproductive. But I can’t even count the number of people who told me that this has happened. It’s very important to highlight that, if you decide to start a union, the company that you’re trying to unionize can use that to their advantage. They can persuade workers that the union isn’t even functioning: “They’re fighting among one another, so how can you trust them?” I put in some tips on how to prepare for that.

Does it feel significant to you that this book was picked up by an imprint of one of the biggest U.S. publishers?

That publishers of this caliber wanted to pick up this story kind of highlights how important they believe the ALU victory was. I see it opening a lot of doors. Hopefully the people who are motivated by this start to organize and have their own victories, then they can tell their stories as well. I want to keep the ball rolling.

The final pages of Handbook detail your plan for an American Labor Party. Do you see this book as a political catalyst?

We have to take this to another level. Creating an actual party for labor in the United States is the ultimate goal. People didn’t think that we could unionize Amazon—there were news articles with labor experts downplaying what we were doing and saying that we were going to lose. We proved all of them wrong, and we think our story is going to be very powerful. We’re all in.

Derrick Palmer will appear at the Ignite author and editor reception, Feb. 22.

Read more from our Winter Institute preview feature.