UFCW 3000 was one of the first unions to question Biden’s age and ability to win. We were the only major union to call for Biden to step down. Throughout the fall, we all gained some hope that Harris could win and stave off a second Trump term, we did not wait. We engaged in widespread scenario planning for a likely Trump second term. We scenario planned with workers from every community in both deep red and deep blue, both rural and urban communities. We have built infrastructure across party lines. There are plenty of people, though too few in the labor world, who also saw what was coming. We are ready to fight, and you can be too.

We want to share our starting assumptions:

Trump and his team will move fast.
Trump’s second term will be far worse than the first for the poor, the disabled, for those in war, for workers, immigrants, women, queer folks and people of color
The labor movement and the democratic party can no longer credibly claim that we are the voice for working class people. That must change if we want a different future.

In early summer, we gathered our staff team and member leaders to think through the possibility of Trump’s reelection and asked what we believe is the most important question of the moment: “What would you do now, if you knew with 100% certainty that Trump would be reelected in 2024?”

Another way of thinking about that question is that if you were told there was even a 50% chance of your home catching fire in the next year, you would certainly do all the things you could to prevent a potential fire. Perhaps you would pack a “go” bag, practice evacuations, check your home’s wiring and the batteries in your smoke detectors. Perhaps you would update your home insurance policy and you might take your most precious items, including key paperwork, and put them somewhere safe away from where the fire might be.

A fire might destroy your home, but with proper preparation, you have a much better chance to keep it from destroying your life. This is how we at UFCW Local 3000 approached the election. We tried to beat Trump at the ballot box, but we are preparing for the fire, so that we are not destroyed by it.

When we engaged in this exercise both workers and staff first reaction was the same: “Trump can’t win, he’s a convicted felon!” or “How can people support that racist?!” Once we assured people that whatever they thought of Trump he actually could indeed win, we moved on to the second stage, which was doom and gloom: “Well if Trump wins, we will all be dead” or “We’ll all be moving to Canada” or “I guess we’ll have to go into hiding”. This reaction was only marginally more helpful.

Once we could move people beyond their initial disgust of anti-worker Billionaires running our government (true for both parties) and fear of what might happen, we got to the real planning. Members and staff filled the room with animated debate. This kind of debate is what can save our democracy and build something new from the ashes of the billionaire donor class controlling both the Democrats and Republics. We wrote, we brainstormed, we fought and we did something that neither candidate did enough of-- we listened to the fucking workers. As conversations evolved ideas grew beyond just talking about Trump. Members debated how both parties have failed working people and how we need to act now to re-evaluate labor’s role. If we don’t organize more workers it doesn’t matter how much we donate to a political party, we won’t have enough power to bend either party toward the interest of workers. To reverse the decades of attacks on workers, we need more workers organized, regardless of the outcome of November’s election.

Through our scenario planning and debate, we came up with practical ideas that any union could implement today.

We also reminded ourselves, that during the first Trump term, UFCW 3000 organized more workers in a single year than any year in the previous twenty. We organized more under the Trump administration than under the Biden administration. And let's be honest, Obama deported more folks than any previous President. Will Trump out deport Obama? We shall see. We should listen to what Trump says he will do. His plan is clear. We must do whatever we can to protect those we work with, protect our organizations, and grow.

Last year, when UFCW 3000 took two strikes at the same time, we had plastered on a giant whiteboard in bold lettering the words “DO A FEW THINGS WELL”.

In that vein, every organization should be focused on just three things:

TRUMP WILL DISMANTLE THE NLRB: WE MUST ORGANIZE NOW AND TAKE CHANCES!

Biden fired the head of Trumps’ National Labor Relations Board and the General Council pretty much on day one of his term. Do we have any illusions that Trump won’t do the same, the minute he gets into the office? And if we believe Project 2025 and the lawsuits from Elon Musk and Trader Joe’s, Trump will work to get rid of the NLRA altogether.

We have only two months until organizing into a union becomes a heck of a lot harder for workers. So, what can we do?

If you are working on an election, in the slow process of collecting cards and waiting to hit some magic number of 70% on cards, don’t wait. Even with signed cards at 50-60% you should file for election. Yes, you might lose the election, and no organizer likes a loss. But we may be dealing with an entirely different election process in a few months. The old notion of burnt turf after a lost election has proven to be largely a myth. Yes, there will be a one-year bar before you can try again, but workers who lose an election are actually more likely to win a subsequent campaign. Don’t be afraid of losses and take some risks in this moment.
Talk to workers in workplaces in your core industries NOW. Let them know that this may be their last chance to organize a union under the current rules. We know that a huge number of workers want a union and don’t have one. In addition to all the traditional barriers that workers face to forming a union, there are run-of-the-mill barriers like a lack of urgency. When something is hard and scary, it’s easy to procrastinate. But workers need to know that if they have thought about forming a union one day, that day is today. At UFCW 3000 we are launching a media blitz in our jurisdiction to get the word out—You want a union? Better do it now.
Pass laws now to protect the right to organize in your city and state. While the Federal Government may be shit-show, many of us live in favorable cities and states. One good thing about the NLRA is that it gives us a framework to organize. One bad thing is that it prevents the State from passing more favorable worker organizing rights. At UFCW 3000 we are working on legislation that will give workers a right to organize through a state process should their right to organize under the NLRA go away. Not only does this protect our rights, but actually in Washington would give us an easier path, recognition at 50% +1 signed on cards. Let’s play offense, not just defense.

TRUMP WILL PASS NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK: WE MUST PROTECT OUR MEMBER DENSITY NOW!

For those who already work in a Right to Work for Less state or in a public sector union, so-called Right to Work (RTW) is already the law of the land. The far right, led by Trump and fueled by corporate dollars, has made no secret that it is their mission to end unions’ right to bargain union security clauses and end workers’ rights to allow unions to deduct dues from their paychecks. Their goal is always the same: weaken worker power and their unions to clear the path for state-sanctioned exploitation and privatization.

Whether it’s through the courts, congress, or administrative rulemaking, we have only two months until Right to work could become the law of the land. So, what now?

Ensure every single person on your staff knows how to sign up new union members. And we mean every single person. Rotate every staff person through a right to work sign up or Janus sign up. Expect that every workplace be at 90% signed up
Review your dues collection process right now. Don’t wait one second longer to do this.
Review your membership applications with attorneys who understand right to work and make sure your membership applications are up to date with proper language and that your membership sign up is easy. Make sure you have multiple ways to except payment. Do this now and practice with a small group of workers to work out the bugs.
Call together your board and staff for emergency scenario planning. Lead a scenario planning where you lose 30% of your budget. This will avoid chaos and build unity now. Freeze hiring, stop travel, unless urgent. What expense can you cut? Do you have a staff union? Connect with them and engage in an open conversation with your staff and Eboard about how to cut 30% instantly, in a way that avoids as many field staff reductions as possible. We need to go on the offense and to do that we need organizers and we need reps and bargainers who can kick ass, identify, and build thousands of new leaders.

TRUMP WILL DEPORT THOUSANDS OF IMMIGRANT WORKERS: WE MUST BUILD OUT SUPPORT AND MUTUAL AID!

Trump’s team is ready to act and will likely use executive power to move quickly. We should expect an expansion of Immigration Detention Centers and family separation at borders and in our local communities. Worksites within 100 miles of the border, including the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, are most vulnerable. Around 2/3 of the population live within that 100-mile zone. Set up a scenario planning today with your board and staff. Make sure every staff person knows how to deal with a call from a worker facing deportation. It is best to scenario plan for roadside checks, ICE raids at work, house and neighborhood sweeps, and forced and willing collaboration with local police. Preparing childcare facilities and schools is critical to protecting children. Our union will focus on how to protect workers at work and prepare their families to survive if a key family member--such as a parent--is picked up and detained. Take the next steps as quickly as possible to protect the most people.

Bargain the strongest workplace protections you can prior to January 20, 2025. Demand to bargaining and enter into emergency bargaining for addendums to your contract to protect workers that may be impacted by deportation threats. This may mean that staff that do not usually bargain have to step in and help. Follow this link (link needed) to see the model language we are working to bargain into every contract.
Make sure your union is consulting with BOTH a labor attorney and an immigration attorney so that you are doing your best job to represent workers impacted by immigration law. We suggest bringing an immigration attorney on retainer right now.
Unions need to make sure that every member has an emergency plan for their families and carry a Know Your Rights Card detailing basic rights in your home, car, and workplace. If you have a minor, make sure someone can make decisions for your child. Contact your daycare, schools, and anyone who cares for your child--be sure they have good and updated contact information for an emergency contact if you cannot be reached. Carry a Know Your Rights Card with you at all times that tells you what to say or do if an ICE agent pulls you over, comes to your house, or your workplace. Click this link (need link) to see the Know Your Rights card we are using for our members.

BONUS TASK: PREPARE FOR A GENERAL STRIKE IN 2028

It is time for all of us in labor—union and non-union—to reset the vast power imbalances within the United States. For far too long, corporations have taken advantage of low wages and workers. Profits for executives are off the charts while everyday workers barely get by. We are pitted against each one another for the benefit of the few. The best way to ensure we make permanent change it to build pro-worker infrastructure and exercise our collective power, and the best way to do that if for all of us to come together and build for a unified strike in 2028. We need clear demands. We need to win. We can throw Project 2025 into the dust bins of history if we focus on our own worker-centered Project 2028.

In Seattle, we had a massive and successful general strike 100 years ago. All workers, union and non-union, refused to work. In Seattle, workers coordinated emergency service delivery and milk delivery, so that this action did not cause undue harm. A nationwide general strike is possible. Start striking now dust off those muscles and work to get your contracts to expire in 2028.

Joe Mizrahi (jmizrahi@ufcw3000.org) is secretary-treasurer of UFCW Local 3000 and Faye Guenther (fguenther@ufcw3000.org) is President. They hope to hear from workers and labor leaders for feedback, ideas and suggestions about how labor can prepare for the fire, if it comes. Go to ufcw3000.org/getprepared for resources and actions referenced in this article.