Yes, House Visits Still Work
In an age of digital organizing, the door knock is still key to connecting with workers & building worker power.
About a week ago, I had the privilege to be part of a blitz in Central California. For those new to organizing, a blitz is a concentrated, short-term campaign where they bring extra organizers to tackle a specific need. I love blitzes for many reasons. First, they embody true solidarity—organizers coming together to boost each other's campaigns when more hands are needed on the ground. Blitzes also allow us to practice our skills in real time, which is crucial for anyone in the labor movement. No matter your specific role, it’s important to understand what it’s like to have face-to-face conversations with workers, whether is canvassing, house visits, or phone banking. Because if I’m not working to become a better organizer then what the fuck am I even doing?
And I know it can seem like a drag to go out in the blazing sun, knocking on doors knowing most people would not want to talk to you, but they can also be incredibly fun. Reconnecting with old comrades and meeting new ones brings a sense of lightness and camaraderie into what can often feel like a pessimistic reality of organized labor. Plus, they’re a great reminder to stay humble, as there's always a new tactic to learn from someone, regardless of your level of organizing experience.
Here is what I learned this past weekend.
House visits work and they work incredibly well.
I had the privilege to get partnered with a 30+ year organizer and while we worked together I learned something I call “confidently genuine.” The first door we knocked my partner began the conversation and said, “Hi we’re with X union and we’re looking for X. *Insert genuine compliment about their home* We have good news & would love to talk to you about it, can we come in?” I shit you not, this worked more than 80% of the time. They let us in! We came in and had about 15-45 minute conversations with workers. Workers offered us water, and soda, and even in one home (where the conversation got very heated because they were very angry) the couple offered me chiles from their backyard because I shared that my mom loved spicy chiles.
You can say a lot of the factors that made this specific blitz or these specific homes we knocked on more prone to welcoming us into their home, but I think it also says a lot about the organizing tactics of my partner. They knew their turf, they were genuine, they were kind, they were attentive, and workers felt it.
When I used to work with immigrant children, I often obtained information their attorneys were not told & I believe it’s because I built trust with these kids by being incredibly transparent and not attempting to force a choice onto them. Children are rarely allowed to make their own choices and as an adult, it’s easy to want to make choices for the children we care about, but that’s not our role. We are not their parents and we are not their saviors.
I’ll give an example, when a teen would come in to let us know they wanted to drop out of school to start working to support themselves and their family, their attorney (my colleague) would immediately go into a frenzy and ask me to tell them no. I’d remind the attorney the decision is not ours, but I will talk to their client. This is how our conversation usually went.
“I know you are feeling pressure to make money because you have always supported your loved ones. I understand that and admire that. You are now in the US where in certain states, you will be criminalized for not attending school. Here are your choices, X or X. Here are statistics of what your life outcome may become depending on your decision. I am not here to make a choice for you, but to let you know what those choices can lead to. Whatever your decision, I will support you.” More often than not, the students would decide to remain enrolled, at least to finish high school.
That is what we were doing when we spoke to these workers and after every house visit, we would debrief in the car to figure out what we think went well and what can be improved. Not only was I learning so much from this experienced organizer, but they also told me they were learning so much from me as they had followed my account on social media. They actually took the opportunity to tell young workers and students that we met that I was “an influencer” and should follow my account. LOL Besides, the immediate feeling of embarrassment, I know what they were doing was connecting these workers to my account for the exact reason I created it: to educate and normalize labor organizing into the mainstream world.
I have so much more to say about this experience, but I will leave you with these last thoughts.
Organizers have the biggest hearts and that’s why people WILL open their doors to us. Do not assume people don’t want to talk to you because you will not know until you try. In every campaign, people will argue that house visits are outdated, and in some cases that may be true, but try it anyway. Digital organizing will never replace in-person organizing, but that doesn’t make digital organizing any less important. First of all, it can create more accessibility to our comrades with different abilities. And second of all, the boss has an unlimited amount of money to union-bust and fight workers so we better make dam sure we are adding all the tools to our organizing toolbox. And lastly,
The solution to the problem is to be better than the problem.
We can only strengthen our labor movement when we become better organizers. We will only make the world a better place when we practice what we preach. Do you complain about mean or apathetic people? Become kinder and more caring about others. The world will be better when we become better versions of ourselves.
Unionize the world. Solidarity with the working class forever
xx
Alex