News and Views from the People's Struggle
San José, CA – On Tuesday, December 16 the Department of Labor released the monthly jobs report for November, after skipping the October report because of the federal government partial shutdown. The official unemployment rate jumped to 4.6% in November, up from 4.4% in September, hitting a new four-year high. This year, the unemployment rate has gone up 4.0% in January to 4.8%, a 20% increase in the rate, under the Trump administration.
San José, CA – On Thursday, December 18, the Department of Labor released its report on inflation for November. The CPI-W report showed that the increase in prices for urban wage earners and clerical workers was 2.7%, less than the last report on September inflation of 2.9% (the October report was skipped because of the partial government shutdown). The broader CPI-U, which includes all urban consumers, including professionals, small businesspeople and retirees, also was 2.7%.
San Jose, CA – Since the start of December, the Starbucks Workers’ Union (SBWU) has been on a national strike. In what has been dubbed the “Red Cup Rebellion,” the aim of the workers has been to disrupt the Starbucks corporation during one of its traditionally most busy times, the holiday season.
San Jose, CA – On the evening of Friday, November 21, 20 people gathered on the corner of King Road and Alum Rock Avenue to protest the buildup of U.S. Navy presence off Venezuela. This is in the heart of Eastside San Jose, the home to many Chicano and Latino residents.
San Jose, CA – On November 22, the San Jose People’s Pride Coalition held a vigil and march for Trans Day of Remembrance, a day commemorating the lives lost to transphobia.
“Fight Trump’s Hate, Honor Their Names” was the theme of this year's action as Trump and Republicans’ attacks on trans people and other oppressed people continue to ramp up.
San Jose, CA – On Thursday, November 6, dozens of people attended the Santa Clara County Finance and Government Operations Committee (FGOC) meeting in support of an ethical investment policy that would bar the county from investing further into fossil fuel companies.
San Jose, CA – On the evening of Thursday, November 13, around 25 people gathered at the Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission meeting to advocate for reparations for African Americans. Those present encouraged the commission to pass a recommendation on to the board of supervisors to assemble a reparations task force to research how reparations could be implemented in the county.
San Jose, CA – On October 23, over 200 community members rallied together at San Jose City Hall to protest the Trump administration’s deployment of over 100 ICE and CBP agents into the San Francisco Bay Area, and to demand an end to the terror inflicted on Chicano and immigrant families by ICE.
San Jose, CA – On October 29 in downtown San Jose outside the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, about 30 people gathered to protest Israel’s violation of the ceasefire. The days before the action have been the deadliest of Israel’s violations, with over 100 Palestinians murdered in Gaza, almost half of them children, and with at least 250 more injured.
San José, CA – Despite midterm exams, San José State University students protested outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, October 16, against Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops into Chicago and other cities. Organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the action brought together university students and activists from community organizations.
San José, CA – On Friday, October 10, President Trump announced that he would be ordering an increase in tariffs on imports from China by 100%. If applied to all imports, this would increase the average tariffs rate on goods from China to 150%. The tariffs would into effect on November 1. On fears that Trump was reigniting his tariff-driven trade war, the stock market sank on Friday, with the broad S&P 500 index dropping 2.7%, the largest drop since April.
San Jose, CA – On Saturday, October 4, around 200 people gathered to commemorate the Palestinian lives lost over the last two years in Israel’s genocide, and the mass resistance of Palestinians and the Palestine solidarity movement abroad.
San José, CA – On Wednesday, October 1, the federal government began a partial shutdown at 12:01 a.m. About 750,000 federal workers will be furloughed and sent home without pay. About 400,000 will continue to work without pay, while more than 800,000 will continue to work with pay, of which three-quarters do military-related work. Those who are furloughed and work without pay will be paid when the shutdown ends.
San José, CA – On September 21, CSO San José and Human Agenda joined the Legalization for All National Weekend of Action to protest the Supreme Court ruling allowing racial profiling. Activists present demanded legalization for all, freedom for Ulises Peña López and an end to masking of ICE agents and law enforcement in San José.
San José, CA – On Wednesday, September 17, San Jose State University students gathered outside an ongoing career fair for STEM undergraduate students, for a noon protest against SJSU’s ties with Lockheed Martin.
San Jose, CA – On August 28, about 30 students gathered in front of the historic Smith and Carlos Statues at San Jose State University students for a “disorientation tour.” On the disorientation tour, new students were able to hear from experienced campus organizers about the university administration's complicity in the genocide against Palestine and inaction under the Trump presidency.
San Jose, CA – On September 10, San Jose Students for a Democratic Society alongside various other SJSU students held a silent protest outside a career fair where Lockheed Martin, notorious weapons manufacturer and supporter of the Gaza genocide, had a table.
San José, CA – On August 31, CSO San José, the Brown Berets and others held the annual Chicano Moratorium commemoration, a historic event when over 30,000 Chicanos marched in 1970 against the war in Vietnam to demand justice for their communities. This significant moment in Chicano history highlighted the disproportionate deaths of Chicano soldiers abroad, as well as the struggle for equality and self-determination at home.
San José, CA – On Friday, September 5, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were only 22,000 net new jobs created in August. This was the weakest number in the past four years. Even worse, the new job numbers for June and July were revised downward by 21,000, so that the revised June number was a net loss of 13,000 jobs.
San Jose – On Thursday, August 2, dozens of people attended the Santa Clara County Housing, Land-Use, Environment, and Transportation (HLUET) subcommittee meeting and the San Jose City Council Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support (PSFSS) subcommittee meetings to demand that they divest from companies complicit in genocide.
At the HLUET subcommittee meeting people spoke to the County Supervisors Margaret Abe-Koga and Sylvia Arenas, calling on them to divest from fossil-fuel companies and to introduce and pass an ethical investment policy.
Tim Samson, member of San Jose Against War, spoke to the supervisors saying, “Chevron is one of the largest producers of fossil fuels for Israel with a significant stake in Israel’s energy sector. As a resident of this county, I see the human rights abuses of Palestinians as a local issue. The county has a moral obligation to divest from companies such as Chevron.”
A dozen more in-person and a handful of virtual attendees spoke of the people’s demand to divest from Chevron and their desire to see an ethical investment policy introduced and passed by the county.
At the San Jose PSFSS subcommittee, around two dozen people showed up to give public comment that is only available in-person. San Jose City has upwards of $50 million invested in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide in Palestine including Alphabet, Microsoft and Caterpillar.
This mobilization was a follow up from a previous city council meeting where Councilmember Peter Ortiz directed Finance Director Maria Oberg to provide report to present at the PSFSS meeting.
Drusie Kasanova, a member of San Jose Against War, spoke to the subcommittee saying, “I’m disappointed to hear the investigation on the city’s investment portfolio were not presented. But we are still here to mobilize and raise that concern and express our support for divestment in-line with the city’s ethical investment policy and to support divestment from Alphabet, Microsoft and Caterpillar.”
San Jose community member and Palestinian American Dina Saba stated, “The 2% of the city’s funds in these companies are investments supporting genocide, the mass slaughter of over 20,000 children, and intentional starvation by Israel and that is 1000% unacceptable.”
Saba continued, “I don’t want my beloved city’s investments supporting the mass slaughter of my family and my people.”
Two dozen more people spoke on supporting the moral obligation of divestment from companies complicit in enabling genocide in Palestine.
There are plans to continue the divestment campaign through applying pressure to the finance director and councilmembers to support divestment.