In When the Revolution Comes, the Amazon Labor Union founder relays what it took to go toe to toe with the tech giant—and win.

What moved you to write this book?

I garnered a lot of attention over the last six years of my life. After articles upon articles were written about me, I realized nobody really knew who I was before I started making headlines. This was my opportunity to tell my story from early childhood. I wanted to express who I am as a person and how I was able to get to this moment.

How did you determine which parts of your past to highlight?

I just wanted to tell the truth: the good, the bad, the ugly. The setbacks I had in life, from evictions to marriage to divorce, and the standard experiences of having children and getting one of my first jobs working at Target. I think most Americans relate to those things. Hopefully people will find a piece of themselves in one of the many journeys I’ve been on.

What’s your vision for the future of labor organizing?

I hope it changes course. In America, the labor movement is pretty much a dying breed. Union membership is on the decline. I hope this book sparks something to help folks get out, get organized, and join labor unions, or even create their own labor unions. Instead of us being reactive, I hope that this book gives people a more proactive stance to take. And now we have the threat of artificial intelligence. If we don’t speak up, technology will replace us.

I was struck by the way you wrote about balancing a desire for labor movements to be open to everyone with blowback about recruiting supposed “outsiders.”

Something to keep in mind when you organize is that nobody and no entity is perfect. You’re trying to bring people from a lot of different backgrounds and perspectives together for one common cause. I think that’s the true definition of democracy. You’re going to have disagreements and arguments, but you have to figure out a way to bring people back to the common goal. I tried to remind people that Amazon wanted us to be divided. At the end of the day, we’re all human beings trying to survive in this society, and we have to look at the bigger picture.

What do you hope the effect is of sharing your story?

I hope it motivates people to do something. The changes that I want to see begin with individual people making sacrifices in their daily lives in order to improve the conditions of the future. I hope that reading about the sacrifices I made inspires people to make some of their own. The future of the working class and the future of our children depends on it. We have a responsibility to leave them a better world than we had.