This month, communities are taking action everywhere, from May Day mobilizations and housing wins to water protectors fighting pipelines and AI extractivism. Together, these stories point to a shared fight to defend land, housing, and life over profit, and a reminder that what communities face at home is deeply connected to struggles everywhere else in the world. As wars intensify and ecological crises deepen globally, internationalism has never been more necessary.
Read stories from around the world on how solidarity economies, communities and autonomous movements are building life amid ongoing struggle.
The New Economy Roundup is inspired by the leadership of communities who have always built solidarity economies from a place of vision, creativity, and survival. This Earth Month, you can support our work by becoming a month donor.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Women raise flags in support of the Herring Protectors, an Indigenous women-led group centered on
ceremony, collective healing, and cultural survival. Photo by Brooke Anderson.
Stand with Water & Land Protectors. In the face of a history of colonialism, violence and death threats, harmful policies, and the ongoing impacts of extractivism, water protectors hold space for ceremony, resistance, and healing. In Alaska, Indigenous Herring Protectors —a women-led group rooted in Lingít teachings—are using ceremony to reaffirm their relationship and responsibility to a sacred fish. Read about their practices and lessons in this piece from Movement Generation. In Montana and Wyoming, protectors are confronting the proposed Bridger Pipeline, which would transport massive volumes of oil and put clean water, wildlife habitat, and communities at risk. Take action now to stop the project, defend clean water and ecosystems, and make polluters pay.
Shut It Down on May Day. On International Workers’ Day, people around the world are taking to the streets to commemorate generations of struggle, from the 1886 Chicago workers’ strikes to today’s fights for dignity. From calls for “no work, no school, no shopping” to demands to tax the rich, abolish ICE, and end wars, May Day is a moment to disrupt business as usual. NEC member CODEPINK and the May Day Strong coalition are organizing nationwide actions on May 1, join the call for a general strike and demand a shift from a billionaire economy to one that funds housing, healthcare, and our communities. Join the coalition by taking the Workers Over Billionaires pledge. Download art here.
Community-Controlled Housing Wins: Across the country, tenants and communities are pushing back on rising rents by taking housing into their own hands. In Chicago’s Logan Square, renters are organizing to collectively buy their building, testing new tenant protections and advancing resident ownership. At the same time, the city has announced a $300 million investment in affordable housing projects. Community-led efforts like NEC member Motherful Village are building housing models rooted in care, and collective ownership. Help expand community-controlled housing by contributing to their fund & join this webinar to learn What Does a Solidarity Economy Approach to Housing Look Like?
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Residents of Quilicura, Chile take part in the Quili.AI campaign, drawing attention to the impact of AI data centers.
Communities in Chile vs AI Extractivism. In Quilicura, located in one of Chile’s most water-stressed regions, a community staged a “human chatbot” experiment to highlight the environmental and social impact of AI data centers and their heavy water use during drought conditions. About 50 residents spent 12 hours manually responding to thousands of online requests. The action builds on growing community efforts targeting tech giants and data centers built or planned in the area. Read how communities from Chile to the Philippines are demanding protection of local water resources and accountability.
No a la Minería! Cooperative Resistance in Bolivia. Cacao farmers are pushing back against a new gold rush threatening their land, rivers, and livelihoods. Led by cooperatives such as El Ceibo, they have organized grassroots campaigns and supported the passage of local laws banning mining to protect agriculture, water systems, and food sovereignty. In Alto Beni, communities mobilized in mass protest and issued a warning: “Leave, or we burn your machinery.” The miners left. Read how cacao farmers took on the gold mining industry, and won.
MOVEMENT NEWS
‘We’re Just Seen as Sex Objects’: Dolores Huerta’s Years in the U.F.W.
Nationwide General Strike Planned for May 1: No Kings Organizer
How CLTs are Powering Co-op Growth in Canada: Lessons for the US.
Tunisia: Where Solidarity Economy Fails, Women Fill In The Gaps
Eastside Café, a stronghold for cultural arts and resistance
From Chile to the Philippines, meet the people pushing back on AI
How to Make AI Serve the Public – One Project
On the Importance of Building Narrative Infrastructure
Another Way Out: We need a mosaic movement, not fragmented ‘leftism’
Women in Brazil’s favelas learn to fight back amid femicides and gender violence
Minnesota is the movement we’ve been waiting for
“Mobilize Everybody”: Minneapolis Organizers Share Lessons From Their Struggle
The Death Squads Hunting Environmental Defenders
FEATURE
The 2026 Black Atlanta Solidarity Economy Gathering was a beautifully held space that centered tangible tools for regulating, cooperating, and sustaining our communities beyond the immediate need for survival. Themed “Feel the Power”, this year’s workshops spanned a wide range of topics including how to make baskets out of kudzu vines, prompts for getting to know our neighbors, community emergency response, connecting the Atlanta Yeek dance style to movement politics, and an app that helps Black people steward shared financial resources.
RESOURCE LIBRARY
PODCASTS & VIDEO
Same Donor, Different Movements | The Call
Vincular la lucha feminista con la economía solidaria | La Coperacha
TOOLKITS & REPORTS
The Dictionary of Radical Alternatives | Global Tapestry of Alternatives
Rethinking the Social and Solidarity Economy and Its Potential for Socio-Ecological Transitions
Guilt by Solidarity | Law & Political Economy Project
Black Employee Ownership | Project Equity
Policy Briefing: Reframing Democracy in Africa: From Ritual to Transformative Solidarity Economics | SAIIA
Poor People’s Moral Budget: Everybody Has the Right to Live | Institute for Policy Studies
JOBS
Development Associate, Democracy Now!
Director, Digital and Marketing Strategy. Legal Defense Fund.
Executive Director. California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD)
Press Secretary. MOVE ON.
Operations Director. Abolitionist Law Center.
Director of Finance and Operations, Climate Justice Resilience Fund
Director of Shared Media, Start.Coop
Executive Director, Cooperative Development Institute
Vertical Video Producer, More Perfect Union
Multimedia Designer. Florida Rising.
Senior Comms & Marketing Director. Movement Labs.
Senior Development Assistant. The State Innovation Exchange (SiX)
Senior Manager, Media Relations. Public Rights Project.
Communications Officer, External Stakeholder Engagement. Heising Simons Foundation.
If you’re hiring, consider submitting to The Roundup. For more opportunities, check out this job board from NEC member Post Growth Institute, the lqb2 movement jobs board, and this one from the U.S. Federation of Worker Co-ops!
EVENTS
Black Trans Film Festival
Join Comfrey Films for the Black Trans Short Film Festival. This event will bring hundreds of folks together to experience films written, directed, or produced by Black Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, or Intersex folks. Over 3 powerful days, we will co-create a space that centers the healing and transformative culture work that Black Trans folks are leading in our communities. (Apr 30- May 2 – Durham, NC)
Advanced Diploma in Popular and Feminist Economies, CLACSO Argentina. For Spanish speaking folks. This diploma program addresses the field of popular economies in Latin America from diverse political, epistemological, and conceptual perspectives, linking them to feminist economics, political ecology, migration studies, public policy, and other forms of social conflict.
What Does a Solidarity Economy Approach to Housing Look Like? Today, affordable quality housing is often out of reach. Standard remedies tend to focus on tweaking regulations, zoning, and public subsidies. But what if systemic shifts are needed? That is a central claim of solidarity economy advocates. Join a 90 minute webinar with expert panelists Kali Akuno of Cooperation Jackson, Alison Chopel of the University of Puerto Rico, and Miki’ala Catalfano of Native Roots Network. Organized by Shelterforce. (Thursday, May 14th, 3 pm ET- Virtual)
Bread and Roses: a May Day Kickoff Party
Kick off May Day with a night of celebration and solidarity to benefit the Cooperative Economics Alliance of New York City (CEANYC)! Enjoy cocktails and mocktails from BOYFRIEND co-op, wine and cider from Wild Arc Farm, delicious bites by Sea and Soil co-op, sounds by DJ Stylus, photobooth by Zachary Schulman Photography, and a raffle of incredible handmade protest banners you can take to the streets or hang as decor. (April 30 – New York, NY)
Solidarity in Action: Mobilizing Labor & Climate Justice at NYC Climate Week and Beyond
Join Taproot Earth and the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council (HTC), in partnership with U.S. Climate Action Network, Labor Network for Sustainability, and Just Transition Alliance for a national call to deepening solidarity between the climate justice and labor movements. With the NYC hotel workers’ union contract set to expire this summer, this moment offers a powerful opportunity to align our values and actions. (May 5 – Virtual)
Financial Health Learning Cohort
The FARMWISE Hub (Financial Agriculture Resources for Maximizing Wealth, Income Stability, and the Environment) is an interactive platform providing underserved farmers, ranchers, and landowners accessible financial knowledge and tools to build resilient businesses. We are excited to offer the FARMWISE platform and its services in English and Spanish. We’re encouraging everyone to register with a free account to gain no cost, indefinite access to the financial health learning modules and all the resources listed. (May 5 – June 4 – Virtual)
Engaging Meetings with Visual Thinking
Visual thinking can help make meetings more accessible, effective, and energizing! Join Nonprofit Democracy Network collaborator Jenny Leis to explore visual tools to energize your meetings, move through stuckness, and create more space for non-linear thinking and varied processing styles. (May 12 – Virtual)
Co-operative Identity and Energizing the Co-operative Brand
Building on the momentum of the second United Nations International Year of Co-operatives (2025), this international symposium invites leaders, innovators, practitioners, and researchers to share ideas that strengthen the co-operative sector’s identity, reputation, and engagement. Grounded in co-operative identity, the symposium will explore brand image and its intersections with marketing, communications, and organizational culture — creating space for dialogue, insight-sharing, and collective action. We look forward to your ideas and to building this conversation together! Co organized by: International Centre for Co-operative Management, DotCoop, and the Northwest Cooperative Development Center. (May 19-21 – Virtual)
We Create The World
We Create The World is an arts festival conceived by The Boston Ujima Project, Inc. Each year, we welcome thousands of visitors to celebrate Juneteenth with Black joy, expression and art. This year’s program is presented with the Museum of African American History and the Institute Of Contemporary Art/Boston. (June 19 – Boston, MA)
Website Security for Social Justice Groups
Cyberattacks against social justice and humanitarian groups are rising fast — up 241% in the past year. Far-right and other hostile actors are increasingly targeting campaign websites with DDoS attacks, defacement, and data leaks — often timed to disrupt our most critical work. The good news? Most attacks succeed because of preventable gaps: weak passwords, outdated plugins, or vulnerable integrations & third-party tools. You don’t need a big budget or a full-time tech team to defend your site. You just need the right knowledge and tools. (June 23 & 24 – Virtual)
Center for Popular Economics Summer Institute 2026
The Center for Popular Economics’ summer institute is designed to address the movement’s economics knowledge gaps and counter the conservative myths at the heart of mainstream economics. It provides intensive training in the economics and economic history knowledge needed to advance visions and strategies for change. The curriculum will cover the basics of radical economics, providing a material analysis of capitalism, racism and patriarchy. We will also discuss the logic behind progressive reforms and post-capitalist experiments. And we will educate each other about the history of social movements and debate different strategies of resisting and moving beyond capitalism. A four-day in-person activist training workshop. (June 24-28 – Amherst, MA)
International Cooperative Alliance Committee on Cooperative Research in Europe
This annual academic event brings together researchers, educators, professionals, and policymakers from across Europe and beyond to explore current trends, issues, and prospects within the cooperative sector. It offers a platform for dialogue between cooperative scholarship and practice, fostering exchange, collaboration, and dissemination of cutting-edge research on cooperatives. (Nov 3-6 – Valencia, Spain)