How to Organize

Mapping Your Workplace

5 min read

This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified labor attorney for advice specific to your situation.

What Is a Workplace Map?

A workplace map is a systematic assessment of every single worker in your workplace -- their attitude toward organizing, their relationships, their concerns, and their influence on others. It is the most important strategic tool in any organizing campaign because it tells you exactly where you stand, where your gaps are, and where to focus your energy. Think of it as a living document that tracks every person by name, department, shift, and their current level of support. A good map does not just tell you how many supporters you have. It tells you which departments are strong, which are weak, who the key influencers are in each area, and what issues matter most to undecided workers. Without a map, you are guessing. With one, you are making strategic decisions based on real information.

The 1-5 Support Scale

Every worker on your map gets rated on a simple 1 to 5 scale based on their current attitude toward organizing. This scale gives you a common language across your committee for talking about where people stand. A 1 is a strong supporter -- someone who is actively helping organize, having conversations with coworkers, and willing to take public action. A 2 is a supporter who agrees with the effort and will likely vote yes, but is not actively involved in the campaign. A 3 is undecided or has not been contacted yet. A 4 is leaning against -- they have concerns or objections but have not firmly committed against organizing. A 5 is strongly opposed and is unlikely to change their mind, possibly even actively working against the effort. The most important group on this scale is the 3s and 4s. These are the people who will decide whether your campaign succeeds or fails. Your committee should spend the majority of its time and energy on moving 3s to 2s and 4s to 3s. Do not waste time trying to convert 5s, and do not neglect your 1s and 2s -- check in with them regularly to make sure they stay engaged.

Creating and Maintaining the Map

Start by listing every worker in the workplace. Use whatever information you have -- shift schedules, department rosters, break room conversations. The goal is a complete list with no one left out. For each person, record their name, department, shift, job title, and any notes about their relationships or concerns. Assign an initial rating to each person based on what you already know. Many will start as 3s simply because no one has talked to them yet. That is fine -- the map is a starting point, not a finished product. As committee members have one-on-one conversations, update the ratings based on what they learn. Review the map as a committee at least once a week. Look for patterns: Are there departments with no supporters? Shifts where no one has been contacted? Issues that keep coming up in conversations with undecided workers? The map should drive your strategy. If the night shift is entirely uncontacted 3s, someone on the committee needs to start having conversations there this week.

Moving Workers Toward Support

The map tells you where to focus, but conversations do the actual work of moving people. When your map shows a cluster of undecided workers in a department, assign the committee member who has the best relationship with that group to start one-on-one conversations. The key to moving someone from undecided to supporter is identifying their specific issue -- the thing about work that frustrates them most. For some people it is pay. For others it is scheduling, safety, favoritism, or lack of respect. Once you understand what matters to someone, you can connect that issue to what a union can do. The conversation is not about convincing someone that unions are good in the abstract. It is about showing them that collective action is the best path to solving the specific problem they already care about. Track what works. When a committee member successfully moves a 3 to a 2, discuss what approach they used in your next committee meeting. When a conversation does not go well, talk about that too. Over time, your committee will develop a shared understanding of what messages resonate with different groups in your workplace.

Keep Your Map Secure

Your workplace map is the single most sensitive document in your organizing campaign. It contains every worker's name, their attitude toward organizing, and strategic notes about how to approach them. If management gets access to your map, they will know exactly who your supporters are, who is undecided, and where to focus their anti-union efforts. This can be devastating to a campaign. Never store your map on company devices, company email, or company cloud storage. Do not keep a paper copy in your locker or desk at work. Do not share it through unencrypted channels like text messages or personal email. Use an encrypted platform where the document is protected end-to-end and accessible only to committee members with proper credentials. Limit access to the complete map to core committee members only. Not every supporter needs to see the full picture. If someone leaves the committee, change access credentials. Treat your map with the same seriousness you would treat any confidential document -- because management would treat getting their hands on it as a major win.

The Supermajority Threshold

A common mistake in organizing campaigns is going public too early. Winning a union election requires a simple majority -- 50% plus one -- but you should never go public or file for an election with anything less than 65 to 70% confirmed support. This is called a supermajority, and it is your target. The reason is straightforward: you will lose support between going public and the actual vote. Management will launch an aggressive anti-union campaign. Some workers who said they supported the union in a private conversation will waver under pressure. Some will change their mind after a captive audience meeting. If you go public at 55%, you may end up losing the vote. If you go public at 70%, you have a cushion that can absorb the inevitable attrition. Your map is what tells you when you have hit supermajority. Count your 1s and 2s. When that number reaches 65 to 70% of the total workforce and you have strong representation across all departments and shifts, you are approaching the point where going public becomes a real option. Until then, keep organizing quietly and keep moving those 3s.

Action Items

Create a workplace map this week
Identify every undecided worker
Assign committee members to have targeted conversations

Building an Organizing Committee

How to identify leaders, build trust, and form the core team that will drive your organizing campaign forward.

Having Organizing Conversations

The practical art of one-on-one conversations that move coworkers from frustrated to organized, using the proven AEIOU framework.