Grassroots Power: A Year of Growth and Conviction
My essay for undergrad started with grass. I wrote about how I believed all living things had feelings growing up, and I never wanted to hurt any of them. That belief led me to become a vegetarian at 14. Seven years later, I stopped being vegetarian because it was too much of a burden on my immigrant family, who never knew what to feed me. I still don’t eat much meat, but all this is to say: I’ve always been an empathetic person. I cry constantly at the thought of other people in pain. I find joy in other people’s joy. And I have no shame about this.
I truly love humanity. Even though there are countless moments when people’s behavior can be ugly and cruel, I tend to focus on the moments of beauty, kindness, and love. I know those moments exist because I’ve been so lucky to experience them—to feel the compassion and generosity of others. This love for humanity has built my resilience. It fuels me to keep fighting, inspired by everyday people who refuse to give up and work to make life a little easier for themselves and those around them.
This year has been one of many lessons. But the one I’m most proud to keep learning is that my integrity does not have a price.
Earlier this year, I left a very prestigious job, one where I was paid over 100k. It was the kind of job where people told me I could “work my way up” to a director role, gain influence, and shape decisions. But it didn’t take long to see the truth: that place was more interested in feeding the egos of those at the top than in truly supporting and empowering workers - especially their own.
When I refused to bow down and kiss the ring, I became a target. My boss degraded me in ways I had never experienced before. I remember crying to a coworker about how dehumanized I felt. And they said something that has stayed with me: “Let this be a reminder that work is degrading, no matter if you’re working in labor. Work is exploitative. Being a worker is exhausting and miserable, no matter how much of an advocate you are.”
Then they said the words that carried me through to the end of that job: “I got your back.”
From that moment, we began to strategize. We power-mapped. We spoke to every coworker, in both our union and the other union at the workplace. We organized. We built power in a space that constantly reminded us how much power our boss held in the labor world. And on my way out, we orchestrated an action that was so beautiful, so united, and so powerful that it shifted the balance—even just a little. Every worker who came after me passed probation without an issue. That was my final “fuck you” to the boss and their allies, who had stood by while I was treated like shit.
After that, I left. I moved back home with my parents. I took an almost $40,000 pay cut. I got into debt getting out of my lease, and selling the furniture that I had bought on credit. And even though it felt like I was moving backward in life, I realized something important: I would rather start over than give a boss the power to strip me of my values. I would rather lose everything, over and over than pretend to have power by being in close proximity to it—never able to speak my mind because I’d traded my voice for the comfort of a paycheck.
I’d rather die. Literally
Every time in my life when I’ve been faced with the choice to chase more money, more “prestige,” or more “power,” I’ve turned away. And for that, I feel so powerful and so at peace.
I cannot be bought, and I cannot be silenced. That is where true power lies: when those in power cannot entice you with money or prestige. My power comes from how loved I feel by my coworkers who have had my back through every job. Maybe I’m just lucky, or maybe it’s because my coworkers know I’m a ride-or-die for them too.
So when it comes to reflections on 2024: make your conviction priceless. Life will not be easy, but you will always love yourself, and that is one of the most radical things you can do in a world that puts so much emphasis on titles and money. You can always get another job, another paycheck. But can you look yourself in the mirror and be proud of what you are becoming?
Solidarity is so powerful, and if you want to get it, you better give it. Be a loud and proud member of the working class. Know that our power lies in supporting each other and all living things. And let us move forward with purpose, protecting the people around us and the grass beneath our feet.
May next year be filled with solidarity and, most importantly, love.
Solidarity forever with poor and working-class people.
-Alex