In the labor movement, and perhaps even more so outside of it, we talk a lot about contract negotiations and strikes. These two things make headlines, change lives, and define a lot of our experience in our unions. But that leaves a lot of acreage for your boss to control. What about the things that don’t violate your contract? What if a strike doesn’t have the support it needs to succeed?

On today’s episode, I talk with Ashton Cummings, a graduate worker at Oregon State University. Ashton and her fellow organizers are making sure that the acreage between contracts and strikes is ruled by workers. She talks us through her ongoing campaign to win back control of wages and hours worked from her bosses. I think there’s a lot of nuggets of wisdom here that can help you organize effectively for day-in, day-out workplace democracy and control of your shop floor.