May 2026
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Honoring the Goddess of Anarchy on May Day
Today is International Workers' Day, also known as May Day.
This May Day, let’s look to the “Goddess of Anarchy” Lucy Parsons, often lost in the creases of historical memory, for lessons on the generative social power and relational bonds that can emerge at the intersection of mutual aid and organized labor.
Exactly 140 years ago on May 1st, 1886, hundreds of thousands of workers across industries walked off the job in Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, and Detroit to compel the capitalist class to adopt the eight-hour workday as the new industrial standard. Lucy (a militant anarchist who had already developed deep organizational discipline agitating for equal pay with the Working Women’s Union) and her husband Albert (a left-wing journalist and leader of the International Working People’s Association) lead the Chicago column, with their two children in tow, which grew to be nearly 80,000 workers deep. The city’s business as usual was paralyzed by industrial solidarity, which produced new forms of democratic coalition building.
Three days later, a bomb thrown at Haymarket Square during a worker rally left seven cops and three bystanders dead. Albert, not even on the scene at the time of the explosion, was arrested alongside seven other labor activist compatriots, tried in a sham court proceeding, and executed by the state in a whirlwind of anti-communist hysteria. Lucy, now widowed, refused to exist as the mere shadow of her martyred husband.
Lucy established the International Workers of the World (IWW). Her commitment to worker rights was symbiotic with her adherence to social anarchism. I often see internal debates on the left over best practices, which, in my opinion, can often devolve into essentializing political camps. Lucy Parson understood the centralized character of labor while also embracing the decentralized conception of mutual aid. These political tendencies need not be at odds.
Mutual aid strengthens community reliance and provides immediate triage to neighbors who need assistance. Unions have the deep pockets and highly-refined organizational maintenance to scale up. This, to me, should form a successful, beneficial, cooperative alliance. The speed and flexibility of the horizontal fills the gaps left open by the bloat of the bureaucracy. The efficiency of the centralized facilitates the long term sustainability of the decentralized. A pro-social exchange.
So this May Day, let’s honor Lucy Parsons' memory by standing with the workers and the organizers — labor and community — and remember that we hold the keys to one another’s liberation. Solidarity forever.
By Erik Abriss, whose Substack focusing on the history and future of the general strike —"A General Inquiry" — you can subscribe to here.
Listings
This month's listings include some combination of local union and labor-inspired groups, as well as mutual aid groups across the region. We hope you'll take some time to find ways to plug into both!
Union-Inspired
Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU)
A diverse, tenant-led movement fighting for the human right to housing for all. They demand safe, affordable housing and universal rent control, and organize against landlord harassment, mass evictions, and displacement. LATU is an autonomous housing movement funded primarily by its members, and their union work is organized through local chapters. To get involved, start attending the meetings of the local chapter nearest you. You can also support tenants by giving to the K-Town Local's Rental Assistance Fund.
A volunteer-run communist book shop and community space, this is an excellent resource for those early in their journeys studying Marxism, Leninism, and socialism. You can browse their staples.
United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA)
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) ensures equity in public education, upholds educators’ rights, advances the well-being of students, and strengthens communities. You can read about their recent landmark wins outlined in their Tentative Agreement summary.
If you can, support LA County educators who are sacrificing pay to stand up for students by donating to the LLEA Strike Fund.
National Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLON)
Founded in Northridge, this nationwide organization fights to improve the lives of day laborers, migrants and low-wage workers by building leadership and power among those facing injustice. Check out their website for volunteer opportunities to support day laborers, information on their Adopt a Day Labor Corner program, and their ICE Out of Our Communities Campaign.
Represents over 600 attorneys at the LA County Public Defender's Office, and works to ensure public defenders are adequately resourced across the county and protecting every angeleno's right to an attorney. Visit their website to read more about their work and influence in our criminal legal system. And follow them on Instagram or Bluesky to stay up-to-date on their efforts.
CLEAN is the country's first carwash worker center, transforming the lives of thousands of carwasherxs, in one of Los Angeles' most exploitative industries - hand wash car washes. Through direct organizing at CLEAN, carwasherxs lead outreach and advocacy efforts around job safety, workplace hazards, wage and hour laws, environmental protection, and community health initiatives.
Since its founding in 2007, CLEAN helped spur one-of-a-kind professional development opportunities for the carwash industry, won the right to millions of backpay, passed the Car Wash Worker Law, and helped incubate the first car wash co-op in the country. Get involved by giving to their Worker Solidarity Fund, or checking out their "Better Car Wash" map.
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If you're interested in learning about other labor/union solidarity organizing taking place at a national scale, check out Debt Collective, United Farm Workers (UFW), General Strike US, and Strippers United
Mutual Aid Listings
Echo Park Mutual Aid works to build solidarity between housed and unhoused neighbors in Echo Park through weekly PowerUp tables, food and hygiene supply distributions, and clothing and fundraising drives. You can set up recurring (or one time) donations to their Patreon, or pick up some items for their spring donation drive (see this wishlist) to bring to the park!
Aetna Street Solidarity organizes against criminalization of the unhoused in LA, practicing mutual aid and building solidarity economies. In addition to other regular programming and unhoused outreach, Aetna Street Solidarity is in the process of building a community garden. Donating to their Day Laborer Garden Work Fund will support the payment of day laborers and help keep them safe with their loved ones. Donate here, with a 🥕 in the payment note!
FFC are a volunteer-run food recovery network based in LA. Check out their page to find out how you can get more involved with their work, or donate here to fund their next vendor buyout.
LA Food Not Bombs serves homemade hot meals to community members in Downtown LA weekly on Sundays. DM them to sign up for cooking, serving, or both, or donate here to keep their work going.
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