At FUNKY BROWN CHICK, Inc., we’re shutting our doors on Thursday, May 1st, 2025.
Why?
Our firm observes both US and Portuguese holidays as part of our global perspective, and May 1st marks International Workers’ Day—or May Day—in Portugal and across much of the world. While Americans might associate May with flowers and spring celebrations, this date carries profound significance in the global struggle for labor rights and justice.
The Hidden American History of May Day
Ironically, May Day’s roots stretch back to US soil—specifically to the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, where workers rallied for an eight-hour workday. The United States, however, deliberately separated its Labor Day celebration, scheduling it for September instead. And this separation wasn’t accidental. It served a specific purpose. To prevent American workers from uniting with their global counterparts on a shared day of solidarity.
This deliberate division reminds us how power structures often work to fragment collective action. Yet the resilience of May Day—observed in countries spanning from Portugal to South Africa, India to Brazil—demonstrates something beautiful about resistance. It persists. It adapts. It blooms again and again, like spring flowers pushing through concrete.
A Global Revolution of Dignity
In Portugal, where our founder most often works, May Day transforms into both celebration and demonstration. Trade unions march through cities with the approval of local authorities. Outside urban centers, people embrace the warm spring weather, combining rest with revolution—a powerful reminder that fighting for justice requires both strategic action and deliberate pause.
This holiday doesn’t just commemorate historical struggles. It also creates space to confront ongoing challenges. Challenges like stagnant wages despite rising costs of living, eroding worker protections, and persistent barriers to collective organizing. These issues intertwine with every social justice cause we support—from reproductive justice to immigrant rights, from racial equity to climate action.
Why Worker Power Matters Now
Our firm supports unions and workers’ rights! Because that support is part of the foundation of our approach to creating “a more just, loving, and healthy world free of oppression.”
When workers gain power, they transform systems. They challenge extractive economic models. They demand dignity. They reimagine what work can look like—shifting from exploitation to collaboration, from depletion to sustainability.
Our work aims to amplify these voices of transformation. We help nonprofits and social justice organizations leverage technology to build power from the ground up. Because we recognize a fundamental truth: Empowering workers creates change that extends far beyond workplace walls.
Your Call to Action: Beyond the Holiday
As we step away from our desks this May Day, we invite you to join us in both reflection and action:
Recognize intersections: Notice how labor rights connect to other justice issues central to your work. How might greater worker power advance your specific mission?
Amplify voices: Center the stories and leadership of workers most impacted by exploitation—particularly women, people of color, immigrants, and those underserved and misrepresented.
Build solidarity: Connect your organization with labor groups working toward shared goals. These coalitions create powerful momentum for change.
Embrace rest as resistance: Revolutionary movements succeed through strategic balance—periods of intense action complemented by deliberate restoration. What might emerge if you created space for collective pause?
While our team observes this day of global solidarity, we remain committed to creating a more just world through our work in data analytics, digital strategy, voter engagement, fundraising, and narrative change. We’ll return on Friday, May 2nd, energized and ready to continue transforming data into action and stories into change.
Need to reach us before then? Contact us here or leave a message at +1 (202) 643-3492.
Because creating a world where all workers thrive requires all of us—strategizing together, resting together, and rising together in blossoming resistance.