What can the history of the labor movement teach us about work, power, and collective change?

Join the Stowe Center for Literary Activism for a conversation with Chris Smalls about his new book, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class. The book offers a firsthand account of one of the most closely watched labor campaigns in recent history, exploring the challenges, strategies, and experiences that shaped the effort.

In conversation with Anita Durkin, Unit Chair of the Stowe Center’s union, Smalls will reflect on the history and evolution of labor organizing in the United States, the role of workers in shaping social and economic change, and the contemporary significance of these movements.

Through discussion of the book and the broader history it engages, this program invites audiences to consider how stories of labor, activism, and collective action continue to inform public conversations about work and democracy today.

About the Speakers

Chris Smalls, Photo taken by Kennedi Carter

Anita Durkin

Chris Smalls

Chris Smalls is the co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union. Under his leadership, the ALU successfully unionized an Amazon warehouse: a historic victory for workers’ rights in America. A Fortune “40 Under 40” honoree, he was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people of 2022, alongside his fellow union organizer Derrick Palmer. When the Revolution Comes is his first book.

Anita Durkin

Anita Durkin is the Unit Chair of the Stowe Center for Literary Activism union, UAW Local 2110. She holds a PhD in American Literature from the University of Rochester.