Reflections on LA Labor Day

On the eve of fall, this year’s Labor Day gave to the LA movement a critical wakeup call: the labor unions and tenant unions concentrate the most organizing activity, generating the most consolidated bases and campaigns, but still lack the political vision to mobilize broader campaigns. At least for the labor unions front they seem content with struggling under the status quo.

Observations at the Labor Union “picnic”: first off it would be more accurate to call it a festival, the union members brought out their lowriders, musicians, food tables, union stations, etc. Working class families from the suburbs came out and hung out, though the field of activity was so large and multifaceted that it seems there weren't general projects all the unions were interested in, some spoke on the platforms about their campaigns, while other stayed on the side line barbequing. All the union locals seem self-reliant and exclusive, but in general their atomized and don’t share united campaigns. Gains are solidified in the interest of the unionized workers, still their relation to the settler state and capitalist relations are balanced, they organize exclusively to maintain their funnels and proximity to capital. Again, these are just observations.

While the tenant union Labor Day event was an actual picnic, with humble vendors, a volunteer DJ, and laid out communal tables and seating for the organizers and supporters to sit together, share drinks, watch their children run around on the grass since if not all the tenant organizing families live in inner city apartments, opportunities to be out on the wet green land are few and far between in their lives in the city; and in celebration set up a pinata that mimics their enemy, and share a mic around to give the senoras the opportunity to share their local's community gains. Despite they lack political engagements, the work they have done has elevated the concrete interests of their bases. They show in their practice how any political process aspiring to become impactful needs to build up community organization of change. On this date of memory given by the settler state to the labor unions to celebrate, the tenant unions take advantage of it and use it as an opportunity to celebrate their own labors.

Lesson of the day: Despite the Labor unions have the monies and establishment, by far in LA the most successful social organizations with the mass bases and formations for a people’s movement are the tenant unions of LA. No one seems to construct and cultivate communities of organized subjects like LATU! Long live the tenant struggle!