I’ll never forget when a colleague said, “I don’t feel like I need a union.” My colleague was smart, progressive, and voted for Obama both times. But unionizing threatened their livelihood and identity. Unionizing required that they see themselves as a laborer, not a professional.

I tried to explain that union contracts offer protection to discuss DEI issues at work. It hit me that the people I most expected to support unionizing were the most hesitant. My colleague supported DEI and labor unions, but not for themselves. Never had I felt so defeated by a Zoom call. After months of after-hours calls, meetings with union representatives, and attempts at relationship building, we couldn’t form a union.*

As the child of union members, I know the power of union membership. One parent was a retail worker and the other was a mechanic. The union gave them predictable shifts, regular raises, and leverage in layoffs. Their contracts protected them and provided the freedom to speak truth to power when necessary.

My colleague’s reluctance to unionize reminded me of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing. In his 1963 letter from Birmingham Jail, King describes the white moderate. The white moderate supports desegregation, but not the lawbreaking required to achieve it. To King, white moderates focused more on conflict avoidance than ending the hundreds of years of violence that Black Americans endured. Like the white moderate, some white-collar workers focus more on being polite than on lifting everyone up with the union.

King’s analysis is ever more relevant today as most Americans struggle to survive. A recent study found that a majority of Americans have been priced out of a minimal quality of life. Another found that households earning $250k per year are spending normally, while the majority barely hold on financially. Thousands of federal workers have lost their jobs. Millions of Americans will lose healthcare thanks to this administration. People of all racial identities will suffer for generations so billionaire tech bros can have yachts. High-income white-collar workers are more likely to become homeless than billionaires. And yet many progressive people are still more loyal to CEOs than their fellow workers.

Recent events show how worker power advances racial justice. In July, Professor Jonathan Caravello, a member of the California Faculty Association, allegedly “[threw] a tear gas canister at a border patrol agent” during an immigration raid. Weeks later, Israeli forces detained Amazon Labor Union leader Chris Smalls as he brought aid to Gazans. They showed solidarity with racialized workers – undocumented workers and Palestinian workers.

Of course, unions are neither perfect nor easy to build. Unions are not immune to racism, patriarchy, and toxicity. Some argue that police unions can harm racialized workers. And although more than half of Americans view unions positively, many do not see an opportunity to form one.

Yet, our employers have enormous, unelected power over our lives. Employers can fire people for expressing political opinions that management dislikes. Employers can also undermine the cause for racial justice. Look at the major corporations that supported this administration. Imagine how they treat their employees of color. Unless you’re a billionaire, this administration will not spare you. When we act collectively as workers, we reclaim our power.

White-collar workers can build power even without a union. They can advocate for better workplace policies. They can join the voices of outspoken coworkers. They can set up mutual aid funds to help laid-off coworkers. Employee resource groups also offer the structure for collective action.

We can still build worker power, regardless of what happens to the legal landscape for unions. As a union organizer once told me: “You don’t need a union to act like a union.”

*Details fictionalized.