“You need to create connections with your co-workers,” says Meredith Whittaker, a lead organizer of the November protest in which some 20,000 Google employees walked out of offices around the world. Know your colleagues; build trust; get together to articulate common concerns and a shared vision of change. Avoid detection by doing these things in person or over encrypted messenger apps like Signal. Organizing a robust worker movement can take years. “It’s like building muscle,” Whittaker says.

Often a walkout is most effective as a response to what Whittaker calls a “symptomatic flare-up.” For Google workers, this was news of a $90 million exit package paid to an executive accused of sexual misconduct. The stimulus does not need to be about your working conditions, though; in June, employees at the retailer Wayfair walked out over news that the company sold bedroom furniture to an operator of migrant detention centers. Before walking out, crowdsource a list of demands. “ ‘We want workers to be treated better’ would be a bad demand,” Whittaker says. Instead, be specific so that the company or institution can be held accountable.

Decide on a nearby public space that can accommodate a crowd. A morning start time is best if you want to get media coverage; alert news outlets in advance. Carry signs. Google employees held sign-making parties the night before their walkout, and volunteers generated slogans anyone could use, including “Not O.K. Google.” Someone should be prepared to voice your demands, which is best done with a large megaphone (check whether your city requires sound permits for amplification).

“Those who are more privileged should take more risk,” says Whittaker, who worked in Google’s prestigious engineering department. Despite workers’ legal right to organize, be prepared for reprisals. Whittaker and another walkout organizer recently left Google after what they say was months of retaliation from managers. (Google denies that it retaliated against Whittaker and her colleague.) Keep meticulous notes on interactions with management, which Whittaker calls “basic organizer hygiene.” Don’t walk until you’re sure you have a critical mass to walk with you. “There’s safety in numbers,” Whittaker says.