Vernon, CA – At a UPS hub in Vernon, California, members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) union held their weekly Teamster Thursdays on June 29. The workers were loud and militant and demanded better pay and a fair contract.

“I was a new hire here during the pandemic and I saw my coworkers drop left and right. They were calling us heroes; they even have a banner in there that says, ‘Heroes work here’. Our hard work made UPS billions in profit. The least they could do is pay us a living wage,” said Alejandro Orellana, a Teamster and an unloader at UPS Grande Vista.

The scene turned tense when three supervisors walked out of the hub to harass the workers who were making use of their protected right to conduct union activity in a public space, telling them they could not park in the employee parking lot because it’s “company property.” The workers called them out and accused them of union busting. They threatened to file an Unfair Labor Practice charge against them, and the supervisors left.

“From what I saw was that we were doing our thing and they just came up to us saying if we worked there, if we were on the clock while doing this, asked us where we parked, and then told us that we couldn’t do what we were doing because it looked like we’re protesting but we told them it’s practice, even says so on the sign. Then they said they were gonna talk to our shop steward about this then they left. I still kept supporting Teamsters,” said Juan Garribo, another Teamster at Grande Vista.

Teamsters at UPS Grande Vista have their work cut out for them in dealing with harassment, unsanitary work conditions, bad air quality and faulty equipment, among many other grievances posed by the workers.

UPS and the IBT continue contract negotiations as the August 1 deadline draws closer. For UPS things are heating up and they feel the pressure.

#VernonCA #Teamsters #UPS #California

Los Angeles, CA – Thousands of supporters from South LA, along with multiple political forces, continued to denounce the killing of 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) at a protest on September 12. Kizzee was shot 20 times by deputies from LASD’s South LA station for an alleged vehicle code violation that ended in a fatal altercation on August 31. Kizzee’s family called for murder charges against the sheriff deputies responsible for his death.

Organized by Coalition for Community Control of Police, Black Lives Matter-LA and several other organizations, the action started at the site where deputies shot and killed Kizzee. Protesters then marched through the neighborhood until arriving at a nearby intersection next to the sheriff's station. They were met with sheriffs in riot gear who blocked the main road of Imperial Highway with barricades and military vehicles.

Several families who have lost their sons to police killings denounced the LA County Sheriffs and LAPD. The groups called for prosecution of the police, the ousting of LA’s District Attorney Jackie Lacey, and voting Trump out in the 2020 November elections. Carlos Montes with Centro CSO spoke of the unity and solidarity that exists between the Blacks and Chicanos. He called for community control of the police and Black power, saying that once Black people are free, we will all be free!

Since the killing of Dijon Kizzee, actions at the South LA station have ranged from press conferences to protests. The South LA County South LA Sheriff's station has met these organized and spontaneous actions with violent repression and has shot teargas, rubber bullets and flashbangs at participants, including journalists and photographers. Participants have compared deputy repression to a warzone. In a few instances, the sheriffs declared the protests an unlawful assembly within five minutes, which they used as justification to instigate violence and ultimately ambush and arrest protesters for being present or “looking like protesters.” Sheriff press conferences have labeled protesters as “outside agitators'' to further divide and confuse the public on the actions occurring at the station.

#LACA #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #Antiracism #BlackLivesMatter #PoliceCrimes #California #BLM #DijonKizzee

Freedom Road Socialist Organization stands with working people on the West Coast who are threatened by the massive wildfires that have taken scores of lives. Dozens more are missing and feared dead and thousands of homes were destroyed. We encourage FRSO members in California, Oregon and Washington to assist in whatever way possible in efforts that ensure the safety of your neighbors and contribute to pro-people recovery efforts. It is important to combat the fear mongering around the fires that is happening in the service of a cynical right-wing political agenda.

There is nothing natural about the disaster that is engulfing the West Coast, it is the product of climate change, which in turn has been created by capitalism. A decade of hotter and drier summers, lower levels of winter precipitation and rapid spring melt outs has created fuel for the fires. Large, extremely hot fires are in turn reshaping the ecosystems that they ravage. In some areas even jack pine seeds, which normally thrive on fire, are being killed by the intensity of the infernos. In some places, what was once a forest is being replaced by grassland. That means that the trees that are so necessary to clean carbon dioxide from the air will not be coming back, leaving more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to fuel warming.

Big business, in particular the fossil fuel industry, have economic interest in blunting measures that would slow or roll back climate change. Capitalism rewards a greedy few and encourages short-term thinking in order to maximize profits today. The result is a world that is growing hotter, has more extreme weather events, and is posing an existential threat to life as we know it and possibly even to humanity.

In the White House, the main political representative of monopoly capitalism is steadfast in his opposition to science, and blabbers about “raking the forest.” That kind of ridiculous commentary and denial of science is not funny when whole towns are being burned to the ground.

Every progressive person should support government assistance to help the people of the West Coast battle this disaster and rebuild their lives. The wealthy that run this country have plenty of money; they can be taxed and made to pay for this crisis.

Our movements need to insist that the government needs to get serious about addressing climate change. Trump has no intention of doing that and that is one of the many reasons he needs to go. That said, we will need to stay in the streets no matter who is elected to force a serious battle against climate change.

Capitalism is a failed system. It is destroying our planet for the profits of a few. There is no hope to stop climate change in the context of the chaotic market-driven forces of capitalism. The sooner the powerful and privileged are overthrown, and socialism – a system where everything is done to improve people’s lives – replaces it, the better it will be.

#WestCoast #Editorials #PeoplesStruggles #Capitalism #EnvironmentalJustice #Washington #California #Oregon #WildFires

San José, CA – On May 14, Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom laid out his plan to deal with a projected $54 billion budget deficit for the state of California. Included in the plan was to save almost $3 billion by cutting state workers’ pay by 10%.

Eleven years ago, California state workers were furloughed for one to two days a month as part of the effort to cut spending after a large budget deficit developed with the deep recession and financial crisis. While the unions tried to fight this, the courts ultimately sided with the state government. The furloughs continued for five years, even though the recession ended in 2009.

Ultimately, this is another attempt to put the costs of today’s pandemic and economic crisis on the backs of workers. This is being done directly, through pay cuts and/or furloughs of state workers. There are even larger indirect cuts, through cuts in education, health care and other state services. These cuts will fall on teachers and medical workers. They will also fall on the children of working people who rely on public school, and the lower-paid workers, the unemployed, and the poor who rely on public services.

These cuts will have a heavy impact on oppressed nationalities – Chicanos and Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans who are both state workers and whose communities will be hit by the cuts in services. Already, as in many states, Chicano, Mexicano, Central Americans and other oppressed nationalities are most heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis. Cuts to state workers and education and healthcare just add even more pain to our communities from government austerity.

#SanJoséCA #Labor #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AsianNationalities #ChicanoLatino #SEIU #publicSectorUnions #California #GovernorGavinNewsom

Los Angeles, CA – On March 7, Centro CSO: Community Service Organization hosted a celebration of el Día Internacional de la Mujer (International Women’s Day), filled with poetry, singing and political discussion at the Benjamin Franklin Branch Library in Boyle Heights. This year’s event, the third that Centro CSO has put on, honored the women of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles who have fought back against the privatization of public education, police terror, sexism and transphobia.

Sol Marquez, a member of Centro CSO and Freedom Road Socialist Organization, opened the event by explaining how International Women’s Day emerged in the 1900s out of the struggles of working-class women in New York City, Germany and the Soviet Union. She then connected International Women’s Day’s origins to current examples of patriarchy, including the election of Trump, recent laws banning abortion in certain parts of the U.S. and the #MeToo movement. Marquez asked the attendees at the event, “How many of you marched when Trump was inaugurated January 2016? We marched in the rain to protest him as U.S. president! And women again stood up in January of 2019 to participate in the UTLA strike.” She finished the introduction by reading from The Duty of Working Women in War-Time by Clara Zetkin, the German Marxist whose proposal led to the first International Women’s Day.

Chicana artist Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin read poems and excerpts from her memoir Mi Amor, about growing up on the Eastside of Los Angeles in a Mexican and indigenous family. She also spoke about her experiences at the mass protest against the Vietnam War – the Chicano Moratorium on August 29, 1970 – where she was beaten and sexually abused by two white police officers. Aparicio-Chamberlin then led a creative exercise, asking the crowd to reminisce together about the different spices and herbs their mothers and grandmothers used in their cooking. She closed with a poem about the femicides in Juarez made worse by the opening of maquiladoras along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Lupemar Torres, a Centro CSO and United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) member, moderated a panel that included Marquez, Rosario Bonilla (Centro CSO), Garfield High School senior Sam Garcia (East Los Angeles Women’s Center), Josefina Rizo (Centro CSO and Justice for Jose “Peruzzi” Mendez”), and Eloisa Galindo (Eastside Padres Contra la Privatización). Torres asked the panelists a series of questions: “What organization are you from and what do you do?” “Why is it important for you as a woman to fight back?” “What advice do you have for other women?”

Marquez detailed her activism as a member of FRSO in Tampa, Florida, which included campaigns against deportations and around the murder of Trayvon Martin. Since moving to Los Angeles, she’s fought for public education and organized families who’ve lost loved ones at the hands of LAPD and LA County Sheriffs. She also emphasized how FRSO places women in positions of leadership and highlighted the role of socialism in historically improving conditions for women, particularly in Venezuela and Cuba.

Rosario Bonilla, a Centro CSO and Eastside Padres Contra la Privatización member, talked about how she joined the struggle against charters after KIPP Promesa charter school attempted to open a new large school close to her son’s school in Boyle Heights. Centro CSO and other allied organizations fought back and won, as protests and Centro CSO’s lawsuit forced the KIPP corporation to cancel its plans. Bonilla told the crowd, “We are the voices of our children. We have to fight for the rights of our children.”

Sam Garcia described how their work as a youth organizer with ELAWC helped them regain their voice as a survivor of sexual assault. Josefina Rizo, whose 16-year-old son Jose Méndez was killed by LAPD in 2016, discussed how she went from attending Centro CSO meetings because of its support for her family’s case to now enjoying being an active member of the organization. Eloisa Galindo summarized the history of the Eastside Padres Contra la Privatización, explained her own process of learning about the impact of charters, and recognized the many parent activists involved with her group’s work.

Torres closed the event by highlighting the role of primarily women teachers in the UTLA strike on LAUSD in January 2019 and saying that all women, regardless of their personality and capacities, have a role to play in the movement.

#LosAngelesCA #InternationalWomensDay #BoyleHeights #California #LA #IWD

Los Angeles, CA – The evening of February 22, a group of fiery protestors gathered at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights, protesting Trump’s deceleration of a National Emergency for his wall. The Boyle Heights action was organized by Centro CSO and was one of the protests in response to a call to action made by the Legalization for All Network.

On the campaign trail, candidate Trump said that Mexico would pay for his wall. President Trump could not get funding for his wall on the U.S.-Mexico border even when his Republican Party controlled the House, the Senate and the White House. Then he shut down parts of the federal government for over a month in an attempt to get the funding for his racist wall. Trump then took it a step further by declaring a national emergency. With thousands of U.S. troops already mobilized to the border, a national emergency will heighten the tension, given that armed troops and border agents have unleashed tear gas on refugees.

Chanting, “Up, up with legalization! Down, down with deportations!” and “Trump, el burro! No! Al muro,” (Trump, the jackass! No! To his wall) the group received countless honks of support. Many passersby even joined the protesters in chanting as they drove by.

To sign onto the Legalization for All call go here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/legalization-for-all/no-trump-wall-no-state-of-emergency/2336613779684475/

#LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #BoyleHeights #California #Trump #wall #stateOfEmergency

Los Angeles, CA – This morning, January 22, LA Mayor Garcetti, the Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent (and former Wall Street banker) Austin Beutner, along with United Teachers of Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl announced a deal. On day six of the UTLA strike, LAUSD and UTLA came to a tentative agreement, which includes reducing class sizes, wage increases, hiring more support staff like librarians, psychologists and nurses, increasing spending on special education, putting a moratorium on charter schools, and investing more in community schools.

“Chapter chairs at 2 p.m. are meeting at Roosevelt High School to vote and bring back the information to all of our schools,” says UTLA chair and teacher Carlos Cerdan.

“We made history in the struggle for quality, public education,” says longtime Chicano revolutionary Carlos Montes. “The Brown and Black community of Los Angeles overwhelmingly supported the teachers. We will continue fighting back with them every step of the way.”

Currently, the Boyle Heights neighborhood is engaged in a fight against gentrification and with KIPP Charter attempts to open a new school. Centro CSO has sued KIPP and you may donate to the efforts here: http://gofundme.com/HelpCentroCSO

#LACalifornia #PeoplesStruggles #teachers #Strikes #California #UTLA #TeachersUnions #UTLAStrike

Behind the shutdown is Trump’s attempt to use the 800,000 undocumented youth who signed up for the DACA program, which allowed them to work and drive, as hostages to get his wall on the Mexican border; ending the diversity visa that brings in many African immigrants, and limiting legal immigration.

Funding for the federal government actually ran out last Oct. 1, and temporary spending agreements pushed the deadline back. Even if no spending bill is passed by Friday night, most of the federal government: Social Security, Medicare, and the military will continue to operate. Mail will be delivered and air traffic controllers will continue work at airports.

However, many civilian federal workers would be furloughed without pay starting Monday. As the shutdown continues, national parks could close, government and military contractors would not be paid, and many so-called ‘non-essential’ services would be suspended.

A much bigger financial hurdle for the federal government comes in late March or early April. The federal debt ceiling will stop the government from continuing to borrow and spend, unless there is an agreement to increase the debt limit. Given the large budget deficit, not being able to borrow would mean immediate cuts to Social Security, Medicare or military spending, as there is not enough other spending to cut.

#SanJoseCA #California #Republican #Government #ShutDown

(Fight Back! News / Staff)”)

Los Angeles, CA — A packed house is unusual for the Boyle Heights Planning and Land Use Committee (PLUC), but on Dec. 14, over 50 people filled the room. The PLUC meeting was asked by KIPP Promesa Charter School architects and developers for a statement of support from the PLUC as well as a preview of a new Community Plan with a rezoning proposal. Boyle Heights is already occupied by two charter schools which co-locate at 2nd Street Elementary and Breed Elementary.

What charter school proponents didn’t plan on was a powerful show of people ready to fight back. Present in the room were public school teachers who are members of the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), parents and students of Marianna Avenue Elementary, and at-risk for displacement Boyle Heights residents.

“Shiny and new charter schools are not always the best choice,” said Lupe Torres a public school teacher who graduated from Roosevelt High School. “Today the Boyle Heights PLUC turned them down and this is great news for public education. KIPP should not be given the chance to expand and poach students from local public schools. Charters are gaining support from public officials and billionaires looking to profit off families and their students. Which leaves us public teachers fending for ourselves and fighting back like we did today.”

Eloisa Galindo, whose children attend Marianna Avenue Elementary public school, stated, “We know it has everything to do with business and profit when billionaires are supporting charter schools. We raised our voices today and fought to protect public education. We fought against a co-location effort by KIPP Promesa at my children’s school, and we won! No KIPP Promesa Charter at Mariana nor in Boyle Heights!”

Those fighting against KIPP Promesa Charter are ready to continue the struggle, as the LA city council may consider the Kipp Charter school rezoning request in 2018.

Sol Márquez is a Chicana member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization and a resident of Boyle Heights.

#LosAngelesCA #teachers #BoyleHeights #education #California

San José, CA – On May 1, thousands gathered at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in the heart of the Chicano/Mexicano community in east San José to kick off May Day. They then marched through downtown to the Arena Greens park. The march was many times larger than the year before, and many unions and community groups were represented. In addition to traditional themes of immigrant and workers’ rights, there were many anti-Trump protesters as well.

One of the new groups was a small contingent of Japanese Americans and American Muslims, who marched with a banner reading: “1942-2017: 75 years of resistance. No to the concentration camps, no to Islamophobia. The banner was carried by members of the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). During the program, Fumiyaki Tosu spoke for the Catholic Worker house, and for the first time ever, the Japanese American drum group, San Jose Taiko, performed at the event.

#SanJoséCA #ImmigrantRights #MayDay #PeoplesStruggles #Antiracism #California

On Sunday, Feb. 19, a standing-room only crowd of more than 700 packed the San Jose Day of Remembrance event. Every year the San Jose Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (NOC) organizes this event to commemorate Executive Order 9066. Executive Order 9066 paved the way for the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II.

Before the event, organizers labored to reconfigure their venue at the San Jose Buddhist Church hall to cope with the expected record turnout. Outside, a number of Japanese Americans held signs and marched through Japantown, comparing Executive Order 9066 with President Trump’s Executive Order 13769 that banned the entry of people from seven majority-Muslim countries.

The theme of the program was “Stand Up to Hate.” Many of the speakers – including Athar Siddiqee, president of the South Bay Islamic Association, and Samina Masood, a Pakistani American and executive director of Silicon Valley Faces – addressed how immigrants from majority-Muslim countries faced inequality and persecution in this country. Other Japanese American speakers such as Jimi Yamaichi, a long-time community leader, and former Congressman Mike Honda linked their experience in the World War II concentration camps with the targeting of American Muslims and immigrants today.

Masao Suzuki of the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee also addressed Trump’s immigration policy. Suzuki criticized the proposal circulated in the Trump administration to mobilize up to 100,000 National Guard troops to carry out the what could be deportations in the millions, saying, “The use of military force to carry out the mass removal of immigrants would be a step not seen since the dark days of the World War II concentration camps.”

The program also including a performance by Aswat, an Arab American ensemble, and ended with the San Jose Taiko. After the lighting of candles for each of the concentration camps, a lighted procession went through Japantown.

The audience was almost triple the size of a typical year. There was a much larger number of families with children than in previous events. One mother explained that her ten-year-old daughter was struggling to cope with recent events since President Trump took office. Another member of the audience said that the record turnout was a referendum on President Trump.

#SanJoséCA #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #DayOfRemembrance #Antiracism #California #Trump #DonaldTrump

Los Angeles, CA – The Mendez family and their attorney Arnold Casillas held a press conference, Jan. 11, to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit for the Feb. 6, 2016 killing of their 16-year-old son Jose Mendez by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Juan Mendez spoke of his murdered son Jose, saying that he loved soccer and hamburgers. Juan Mendez displayed an urn with the ashes of Jose saying, “This is all I have left of my son. I want justice – these police who assassinated my son must go to jail.”

Attorney Arnold Casillas gave specific facts and showed a video of the Boyle Heights killing. A video from across the street on apartment building shows Jose Mendez pulling over into drive way and the LAPD quickly exiting police car and start firing at Mendez, who was still sitting and strapped with seat belt in car. The police officers are Josue Merida and Jeremy Wagner.

A witness said he heard no orders to exit the car or for raised hands, only the loud burst of multiple gunshots. Jose Mendez was instantly killed, with 19 bullet wounds to his body, mostly to the left side shoulder and face. Part of his face was destroyed. The video shows the police taking the dead body out of the driver seat. The police report states that they cut the seat belt and dragged the lifeless body about 30 feet way from car onto the side walk and handcuffed him. Police then stood over body about 10 minutes. Later medical vehicle arrives but no aid was ever given.

The police version is that Jose was stopped for driving a reported stolen car, and that he “brandished” a shotgun. In 2014 these same two officers killed someone with the same story, that he “brandished” a gun.

Josue Merida and Jeremy Wagner must be taken off the street, fired and prosecuted – they are killers. The two policemen turned off their body video cameras before the shooting. These two cops are killers and they are now back on the street patrolling our community.

At an LAPD Police Commission hearing of Jan. 10, on the agenda was an Officer Involved Shooting report from Chief Charlie Beck. During the public comment period, Sol Marquez with Centro CSO called for the prosecution of the police. During the closed hearing they determined that the shooting was “within policy.” The commission bought into the lies of the two police officers and Chief Beck fed them their lies to consider a shooting “within policy.”

The Los Angeles District Attorney Jackey Lacey has also not prosecuted these killer cops or the many others. There were 19 killings by police in Los Angeles in 2016; six in Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles alone. The Mendez family and Attorney Arnoldo Casillas are in unity with Centro CSO are now calling for the U.S. federal government to intervene and conduct a federal investigation on the Jose Mendez killing, and the others, in Boyle Heights.

Centro CSO has organized with the families of Jose Mendez; Edwin Rodriguez, who was killed Feb. 14, 2016; Arturo Valdez, killed April 6; and Jessie Romero, killed August 9, to demand justice, and that the killer cops be fired and prosecuted.

Centro CSO is calling for a mass march on Jan. 20, to fight the coming Trump attacks. Demands include “Legalization, No Deportations and Jail the Killer Cops.” The rally will assemble at 11 a.m. at Mariachi Plaza and will march to LA City Hall.

Chicanos have a long history of organizing resistance to police killing and abuse. Since the 1848 Mexican American war – when the now-U.S. Southwest was occupied, we faced lynching and killings of the native indigenous and Chicano population. We have and will continue to fight back!

#LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #California #JoseMendez #PoliceBbrutality

Los Angeles, CA – Eight months after the LAPD killing of Jose “Peruzzi” Mendez – the 16-year-old killed by LAPD, and four other police killings of young Chicanos in Boyle Heights, an Oct. 6 call-in day action was organized by Centro CSO.

“It felt good to call DA Jackie Lacey’s office today,” says Juan Mendez father of Jose “Peruzzi” Mendez. “The secretary answered in Spanish, so I was able to fully communicate that I was not only calling to demand justice for all families’ victims of LAPD and Sheriff killings, but especially for my son who was killed this year, Feb. 6.”

The call-in action demanded Lacey use her power as District Attorney to investigate and prosecute killer cops in Los Angeles, including Boyle Heights and East LA.; complete investigations of the LAPD killing of Jose “Peruzzi” Mendez killed on Feb. 6; Jesse Romero killed on Aug. 9; the East LA Sheriff killing of Edwin Rodriguez on Feb. 14, and Arturo Y Torrez, killed by the LAPD on April 10.

Estela Rodriguez called the DA early in the morning demanding justice for her son Edwin Rodriguez. She stated “I will not stop until we win justice for my son Edwin.”

Jesse Romero’s family and friends discussed how when they called to leave their message for DA Jackie Lacey the person answering was serious and respectful.

“When I made my call,” says Josefina Mendez mother of Jose “Peruzzi” Mendez, “I was able to let the secretary know that I was the mother of ‘Peruzzi’, and I wanted justice. I’m sure taking messages for DA Jackie Lacey are heavier when they come from the parents of the children killed by LAPD.”

Centro CSO plans to follow up with a protest demanding for justice from DA Jackie Lacey. It is time LAPD be held accountable for the crimes against Boyle Heights Chicanos.

“It's time that these criminal cops pay for the distress their actions have caused the families of these kids. They may think they're untouchable, but there is a storm coming,” says Alex Orellana, a Chicano member of Centro CSO. “More and more cops are starting to be persecuted for these shootings, and many more will come. We will keep fighting until all these murderers are off our streets and behind bars.”

Centro CSO invites all to attend their monthly meetings. The next one is happening on Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the Benjamin Franklin Library in Boyle Heights. RSVP via Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/180049552399787

#LosAngelesCA #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #CentroCSO #BoyleHeights #Antiracism #California #LA #JesseRomero

Los Angeles, CA – In front of media cameras and surrounded by family and supporters, Teresa Dominguez, the mother of Jesse Romero, demanded justice for her son. The Oct. 6 press conference announced the filing of a government claim against the City of Los Angeles and the LAPD for the killing of Romero. Lawyer Humberto Guizar pointed out that recently released videos contradict the police version of the killing. He blasted the LAPD for lying, saying that were was no way the police version can be truthful.

Jesse Romero, 14 years old, was killed by officers of the LAPD Hollenbeck station on Aug. 9 under the pretext that he was writing on a wall. After chasing him, the cops falsely claimed that he pointed a gun and that they had to shoot to kill him. Videos released by LA Weekly, Democracy Now and others shown on social media contradict the LAPD version of the shooting. The videos show Jesse down on a side walk bleeding and dying and the alleged gun far way on other side of a metal wrought iron fence. A witness states that Jesse ran and threw away the old gun over the fence and was shot and killed moments later. The mother is demanding justice for Jesse Romero, and this claim is the initial step toward a formal lawsuit.

Four other young men have been killed in Boyle Heights by LAPD since Feb. 6 and one other by ELA sheriffs.

Chicano activist Carlos Montes, of Centro CSO, introduced the speakers, who included Black Lives Matter member Michael Williams, who expressed solidarity and called for the firing of Chief Beck. Josefina Rizo, the mother of Jose Mendez, 16 years old and killed by LAPD Feb. 6, expressed support for Teresa Dominguez and called for justice for all the families and prosecution of the LAPD.

Sol Marquez, representing Centro CSO spoke about many other police killings of young Chicanos and the demand to District Attorney Jackie Lacey to prosecute the killer cops. She pointed out that Centro CSO and the families organized a call in day to D.A. Lacey demanding that she prosecutes the police.

Damian Ramirez with Young Survivors spoke about the epidemic of killings nationwide of Black and Brown youth across the U.S. and the need to unite to stop police killings. Also present was Obdulio Olivas father of Carlos, 19, killed by LA sheriffs in East LA in 2013 and Blanca Valdez, whose son Arturo was killed by LAPD in April in Boyle Heights.

Jesse Romero attended local schools in Boyle heights. He graduated from 2nd Street School, attended Hollenbeck Middle School, and Mendez High School. Jesse is the latest police killing of Chicano youth in Boyle Heights.

Also present and supporting the event were Maria Banda, whose son was shot 14 times by LAPD in Boyle Heights and sent to jail for 15 years; Black Lives Matter LA; Centro CSO; Young Survivors-Carmelo Castaneda, and students from ELAC Mecha.

Centro CSO invites everyone to attend their upcoming meeting on Oct. 19, at 6:30 at the Benjamin Franklin Library in Boyle Heights.

#LosAngelesCA #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #BoyleHeights #Antiracism #California #LA #JesseRomero

Los Angeles, CA – Facing intense pressure from the community, the Police Commission and Chief Beck fled a June 21 ‘community’ meeting.’ They could not take the heat and left out the back doors.

Chief of LAPD Charlie Beck, Police Commission members Kathleen Kim, Robert Saltzman, Sandra Figueroa-Villa, Steve Soboroff and Matt Johnson, along with over 25 police officers, gathered at Hollenbeck Middle School. The neighborhood of Boyle Heights, home to Hollenbeck Middle School, was the site for the first community meeting of the LAPD Police Commission to hear from the residents.

Black Lives Matter, the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, and Centro CSO met the LAPD meeting with much resistance. Bringing three families of LAPD police killings and shootings, and one victim family of LA Sheriff killings, Centro CSO was able to directly confront Chief Beck and the other LAPD officers present.

The family of a 16-year- old Chicano, Jose “Peruzzi” Mendez, killed Feb. 6 by LAPD; the family of Arturo Y Torrez killed by LAPD April 10; the family of Edwin Rodriguez killed by ELA Sheriffs Feb. 14, and Maria Banda, whose son was shot by LAPD in Boyle Heights and left for dead, only to be currently imprisoned, were all present and spoke out.

In Spanish, Juan Mendez, Peruzzi Mendez’s father, shouted into the mic, “I ask you now, who will bring me back my son? Which of you will bring my family the justice we deserve? Shooting my son in the back until he died, where is his justice? He was only 16 years old!”

“I should not be expected to believe the men who killed my son, Arturo Y Torrez,” shouted Blanca Duran.

At one point an LAPD officer pulled out a hand-held camcorder to record the public to which Mendez’s mother shouted, “Yeah go ahead and record us now, but refuse to record yourselves killing my son!”

Estela Rodriguez took to the mic to express her anger and fervor for justice, “While the LA Sheriffs were the ones responsible for killing my son I ask all of you today, when will we be able to close this file? I want justice! We will not stop until we obtain justice for Edwin Rodriguez!”

Three of the four families were Spanish-speaking only. LAPD speakers exceeded the two-minute comment limit, but whenever a Spanish-speaker would take the mic along with a translator, the buzzer would go off and the cops would insist on the speakers leaving the mic. The public immediately protested, shouting “Four minutes now!” until finally Spanish-speakers were given four minutes, a fairer amount of time to comment.

“One day I will have children while living Boyle Heights,” shouted Sol Marquez of Centro CSO. “I promise you now, Chief Beck and all you LAPD officers present that I will teach my children not to fear you; they will be taught to fight back. We are Boyle Heights, we are Chicanos, and we are fighting back against your crimes against us.”

Black Lives Matter rose in solidarity with the families and held a moment of silence to commemorate the lives taken by LAPD in Boyle Heights, and the greater Los Angeles area. At one point, they projected a video captured earlier that same morning of LAPD using excessive force against a senior citizen Black man who had exceeded his two minutes of public comments.

Longtime Chicano rights activist and member of Centro CSO Carlos Montes shouted, “We unite with Black Lives Matter’s demand to fire Chief Beck. We bring you these families to show you that Boyle Heights will not remain silent at the face of injustice. Justice for Jose Mendez, Justice for Edwin Rodriguez, justice for Arturo Y Torrez, and justice for all victims of police crimes.”

After the meeting, Marquez stated, “Killings of Chicanos is only one form of national oppression against us. Many of us will never be able to afford the luxuries of traveling outside of our neighborhoods, and much less to lobby politicians. We locally can organize ourselves and fight for our own justice, our own liberation, our own equality.”

Centro CSO is gearing up for more local actions and invites you to participate in monthly, meetings the third Wednesday of every month – 6:00 p.m. at Benjamin Franklin Library, 2200 E 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033. One may contact them directly at centrocso@gmail.com, http://facebook.com/CentroCSO, http://twitter.com/CentroCSO, http://centrocso.wordpress.com

#LosAngelesCA #ImmigrantRights #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #NYPD #Antifascism #California #LA #CSO

Los Angeles, CA – On May 5, students and community members protested the visit of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Clinton spoke to supporters on the East Los Angeles College (ELAC) campus Thursday afternoon. 500 protesters demanding she leave the campus marched on the gymnasium where she spoke.

Protesters gathered in nearby Belvedere Park and marched to the campus chanting “Deport Hillary!” “Hillary fuera! Fuera de East LA!” and “Chicano power!” Once on campus they were met by East LA sheriffs. Many of the sheriffs were on horseback. Many police helicopters hovered overhead. As the protesters kept chanting they gathered on campus for a round of speeches. After the speeches, they marched on the gymnasium and were met by barricades and more police.

Irving Grey Angeles, one of the organizers with MEXA de ELAC said, “The message is clear. She represents the 1%. She gives closed door speeches to Wall Street for hundreds of thousands of dollars and won't release the transcripts. She has called for the deportation of undocumented people, even children. As a working-class and immigrant community, clearly, she does not have our best interests at heart. In a classic display of pandering, she decides to visit us on 5 de Mayo. We're not having that. The protest brought out hundreds of students and community members who are tired of being lied to and misled by opportunist politicians. All power to the people!”

A few protesters went into the event and chanted during her speech. Clinton's speech was cut short by ten minutes and she was forced to leave early. As Clinton supporters filed out of the event, the protesters kept chanting: “Hey hey ho ho! Hillary Clinton's got to go!” “Vendidos!” and “Sell-outs!”

Long time Chicano activist Carlos Montes said, “We're not going to get Chicano political power through Hillary Clinton or the elections. We need to keep organizing and fight for equality and self-determination!”

#LosAngelesCA #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #Elections #US #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #Latinos #Antiracism #California #HillaryClinton

Los Angeles, CA – A militant march and rally was held on International Workers Day, May 1 that brought out the Boyle Heights community by the hundreds. Raising the demands of Legalization for all, dump Trump, and stop police killings of Chicanos, the protest was organized by Centro Community Service Organization (Centro CSO).

The march was led by people holding banners reading “Legalization for all.” Two large red flags also led the march. Waving and yelling at the top of their lungs, Garfield High School students carried the two flags, one of Aztlán and the other with the slogan “Liberation not deportation.”

As the militant crowd lined up to march, they were fired up and began chanting, “Chicano power,” “Aqui estamos y no nos vamos, y si nos echán, regresamos!” (We are here! And we’re not leaving! And if they deport us, we’ll be right back!) and “Dump Trump!”

Leading chants on the back of a pickup truck, Sol Márquez kicked off the march by asking the crowd, “Who’s ready to march to the police station and demand justice?” The march started on Soto and Chavez in the heart of Boyle Heights and was greeted by many cheers and waves from the public.

Marchers stopped for a short rally at the LAPD Hollenbeck police station to denounce police killings of Chicano youth.Three families in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles have fallen victim to police killings in 2016. They all joined the march. The three Chicanos murdered were Edwin Rodriguez killed by LA County sheriffs on Feb. 14; Jose Mendez, killed by LAPD-Hollenbeck Feb. 6; and Arturo Valdez killed by LAPD-Hollenbeck April 10.

In front of LAPD station Jhony Mendez shouted into the microphone, “My little brother Jose Mendez was only 16 years old when LAPD shot and killed him. And to this day LAPD has never shown us their faces, because they know they are in the wrong.”

Estela Rodriguez, shouted and pointed to LAPD, “My 24-year-old son was shot 17 times, all in the back or to the back of his head. It’s time we bring Edwin Rodriguez’s case to justice.”

The spirited march ended with a high energy rally at the historic Mariachi Plaza. Blanca Valdez, long time education activist, talked about her son Arturo being shot in the head by the LAPD.

Isabel Ocampo of Centro CSO talked about the militant spirit of the undocumented youth and the fight for deferred action for all. “It is time undocumented people come out of the shadows and join the fight for legalization,” said Ocampo.

Long time Chicano leader Carlos Montes spoke to the crowd, “Self-determination for all Chicanos, political and economic control for our people. Are you down with me? We can keep fighting years for reforms, but real change will come from revolution!” The crowd overwhelmingly agreed by chanting, “Viva la revolucion!” (Long live revolution)”

MECHA de Roosevelt High School and the undocumented students of SURGE, of California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) urged support for the fight for public education and immigrant rights. Leonardo Vilchis of Union de Vecinos also talked about the fight against evictions and raising rents!

Participants in the event included students and families of Boyle Heights and ELA, members of Centro CSO, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Union de Vecinos, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), CSULA SURGE, East Los Angeles College M.E.Ch.A, Roosevelt High School M.E.Ch.A, Garfield High School M.E.Ch.A, GABRIELA Los Angeles, Anakbayan Los Angeles, The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) of Los Angeles, Assoc. of Ex Braceros, local rank and file Teamsters from UPS, the MORENA party of Mexico, , Human Rights Alliance for Child Refugees, Serve the People, and two different chapters of the Brown Berets.

Sol Márquez concluded the rally stating, “We thank all of you who were present today demanding justice for all Chicanos killed by LAPD and LA sheriffs. And we thank our Black brothers and sisters who have fought back against their own national oppression at the hands of the state – and their movement is only growing. We must unite since our interests are the same: Liberation now, freedom now! And let us also never forget that women hold up half the sky!”

Centro CSO will be holding a meeting May 18 at the Benjamin Franklin library, for upcoming plans against police crimes and actions for Deferred Action for Parents (DAPA). For more information about Centro CSO https://centrocso.wordpress.com/

#LosAngelesCA #InJusticeSystem #Labor #OppressedNationalities #MayDay #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #BoyleHeights #immigrationRights #California

Los Angeles, CA – Veteran Chicano and immigrant rights leader Carlos Montes commented today, April 18, on the presentation of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on DACA+ (Deferred Action for Children Arrivals extension) and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans).

Montes stated, “The Deferred Action program will provide temporary relief from detentions and deportations. We must demand the U.S. Supreme Court up hold President Obama’s executive order. We should also condemn the right-wing racist Republicans who have blocked its implementation, causing more suffering for millions.”

In early 2014 there President Obama issued an executive order to create Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Deferred Action for Children Arrivals, also known as DAPA/DACA. In 2014, 26 Republican governors, led by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, filed a lawsuit in federal court that blocked its implementation. The Obama administration filed an appeal challenging the Republican-led lawsuit, which was heard before the Supreme Court today.

#LosAngelesCA #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #CentroCSO #CarlosMontes #Immigration #DAPA #California #LA

Los Angeles, CA – Family, friends and supporters of Edwin Rodriguez united to protest his murder by Sheriff’s Deputies of East Los Angeles, Feb. 20. Rodriguez was pulled over by East Los Angeles (ELA) Sheriffs, beaten and shot to death on Feb. 14th. He was shot over ten times. The sheriffs claimed that Rodriguez was in a stolen car. However, the car was not stolen; it belonged to the driver’s mother. Antonio Rodriguez, the family's attorney said, “There was no reason to pull them over.”

The Rodriguez family led chants against the sheriffs like “Asesinos! Asesinos!” and “What do we want? Justice! For who? Edwin! When? Now!” As sheriff patrol cars passed by, the protesters chanted louder. Other families of police brutality victims joined the Rodriguez family in solidarity. Obdulio Oliva, the father of Carlos Oliva, said, “I'm now scared of cops. I'll never trust that they'll protect me or my family. They're killers!” In 2013 Carlos Oliva, a college student, was shot in the back by Deputy Sheriff Nicolas Castellanos and Deputy Sheriff Anthony Forlano. Juan Mendez, father of Jose Mendez also joined the protest. Jose Mendez was the Boyle Heights teenager who was gunned down by LAPD on Feb.6. Mendez said, “My 16-year-old son was murdered by two LAPD officers. To this day I have not seen his body or know how many times he was shot. It's not right what they're doing to our children and our youth.”

Edwin Rodriguez' aunt, Gabriella, yelled at the top of her lungs, “The cops are a gang of killers! Today it's us! Tomorrow it might be you! We want justice!” A local community group in Boyle Heights, the Centro CSO (Community Service Organization) helped organize the protest. CSO has a long history of fighting police brutality against Chicanos, including the historic 1951 Bloody Christmas case. CSO also fought to get justice for Manuel Jamines, a Guatemalan Mayan day laborer, who was shot in the head on Sept. 5, 2010 by LAPD in the Pico Union community.

Stephanie Yanez spoke in front of station: “Why did they kill him? Edwin was a caring father he loved people. He loved to sing and draw”. Sol Marquez with Centro CSO said, “How will we get justice? By doing what we're doing today! Working hard to keep building the movement! Keep fighting, keep organizing! Keep your head up, and keep being proud of being Brown!”

The protesters marched from the sidewalk to the steps of the sheriff's station. Holding banners that read, “Justice for Edwin,” and “Stop killer cops,” they chanted at the sheriffs inside, “Mexicanos unidos jamas seran vencidos,” and “Chicanos unidos jamas seran vencidos!”

Estela Rodriguez, Edwin's mother, told the protesters, “My son did not deserve this. So many cops against one person, is not justice. I want justice! For my son Edwin! For Carlos Oliva! For Jose Mendez! Who do we call now for justice? Why call the cops? So they can murder our children? I want justice!” The chanting continued and got louder and louder.

Longtime revolutionary and organizer with Centro CSO, Carlos Montes, pointed at the ELA sheriff's station and yelled, “I've been locked up in that jail! We have a long history of fighting for our rights. We have the energy, we have the people: Our youth, our veterans, our families – to fight back! We can win justice, we can win equality, we can win self-determination. We just have to organize ourselves unite and fight back!”

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in Los Angeles County has a long history of harassing, abusing and killing Chicanos and Blacks. Former Sheriff Lee Baca is currently awaiting sentencing, and his former second in command, Sheriff Paul Tanaka is awaiting trial, over a police abuse incident investigation in the LA County Jails. In the mid-1990s, the LA County Sheriffs provoked a confrontation and killed Smokey Jimenez in the Ramona Gardens Projects, causing a rebellion. Several other Chicanos have been killed by law enforcement in recent years in the Ramona Gardens Housing Projects of Boyle Heights, including Mauricio Cornejo and others.

#LosAngelesCA #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #California #LA #Injustice #JusticeForEdwinRodiguez

San José, CA – On Sept. 10, supporters of Rasmea Odeh held signs and passed out hundreds of flyers in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. main library here. The event was organized by the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression and endorsed by BAYAN USA, Justice for Palestinians, and Anakbayan Silicon Valley.

#SanJoséCA #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #California