Got anything more in depth than platitudes? That doesn’t help someone currently in an overworked situation. I’d hazard an assumption that unions don’t sprout overnight through sheer application of will, and I’m legitimately interested in how a person could start organizing one.

In my experience one of the toughest things when you’re being overworked to that degree is finding time and energy to do anything beyond staying afloat.

Unions aside, from my experience: The best thing to do is to enforce boundaries with your work early, and refuse to work overtime except in the case of true emergencies, not for issues of poor deadline planning. Speak up early and often against unrealistic expectations before it becomes the crazy sprint to the finish, and quietly be unavailable when there are calls to overtime. Use excuses that are tough for people to challenge, like children or time with family. If challenged that others are sacrificing those things, ask if that is official company policy and expectation that you can get in writing, and remind them that is their choice to do so but it isn’t yours. After overtime bursts, start the conversation of “what is being done to prevent the need for these crunches going forward?”

Ultimately though, the easiest option tends to be to try and find a different empoyer where crunch times are not considered standard practice.