Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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By staff

Santa Ana, CA – El miércoles 23 de septiembre, se escuchaban consignas como “¡Kingsley, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” en la calle Sullivan.Rain Mendoza, de la Organización de Servicio Comunitario del Condado de Orange (CSO OC), inició la manifestación declarando: “Estamos aquí hoy debido a los años de acoso a los que Kingsley Management Corporation ha sometido a los residentes de Coach Royal, en su mayoría inmigrantes de clase trabajadora”.

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By Rain Mendoza

Santa Ana, CA – El 12 de septiembre, la Organización de Servicio Comunitario del Condado de Orange (CSO OC) y miembros de la comunidad pusieron una mesa de información frente al conocido restaurante salvadoreño El Salvador Café para distribuir recursos e información cruciales en respuesta al más reciente ataque de Trump que amenaza con poner fin al Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS) para los inmigrantes salvadoreños.

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By staff

Los Angeles, CA – On Sunday, September 20, a group of 30 rank-and-file members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) union met at Magic Johnson Park in South LA. The Teamsters work for Republic Services and met to discuss strike preparedness for their upcoming contract expiration.

On September 30, the union contracts of roughly 3000 Teamsters Local 396 sanitation employees across different companies and yards will expire. These Teamsters haul waste across a large geography of cities in LA County, Orange County and the Inland Empire.

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By staff

Oakland, CA – On Tuesday, September 22, around 30 community members rallied in front of the attorney general’s offices to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Jalani Lovett, who died in LA Men’s Central Jail.

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By Diana Terreros

Santa Ana, CA – On Wednesday, September 23, chants of “Kingsley escucha, estamos en la lucha!” could be heard on Sullivan Street.

Rain Mendoza with Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) kicked off a rally, stating, “We are here today because of the years of harassment the majority working-class immigrant residents of Coach Royal have been subjected to under Kingsley Management Corporation.”

35 people, including residents of Coach Royal Mobile Home Park and community members, rallied in front of the park to demand a stopping of all fence removals, allowing residents to keep their air conditioning, and maintaining all allotted property sizes. Kingsley uses these bogus violations and changes to the rules to begin the process of stealing homes from the residents.

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By Tim Phan

San Francisco, CA – On 21 September, crowds descended upon the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco to condemn human rights violations by the Marcos regimes of both 1965 and today. Throughout the rally, the People’s Choir sang songs written during periods of US-led violence in the Philippines, including Tamisan sa Sining’s “Dakilang Pakikibaka” and José Alejandrino’s “Bayan Ko”.

Alex Marquez from the League of Filipino Students – SF State told the crowd, “54 years ago today, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law and plunged the Philippines into 14 bloody years of state violence, until it was put into an end by the People Power Revolution in 1986, when the masses came together to exile this brutal dictator like a stallion kicks off a fly!” shouted Marquez.

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By staff

San Jose, CA – On the evening of Thursday, September 17, over 40 people gathered in the streets of downtown San Jose to demand an end to the war of aggression against Iran.

Chants like, “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!” and “Trump wants war, Trump wants oil, hands of Iranian soil!” could be heard echoing through the streets of downtown and around city hall.

Emer Martin of Vigil for Gaza spoke to the crowd, “We support Iran, from the heart of the corporate tech military empire, because we know what it has in store for us too. They have shown us what they’ve done to Gaza they will do to anyone who gets in the way of a capitalist project.”

Martin went on to say, “All the workers of the world should get on board with Iran now and reject the years of propaganda!”

Panda Shim from Students for a Democratic Society at San Jose State University said, “We want an end to sending young Americans to die for absolutely nothing. And until the U.S. gets their hands off the Middle East, until there is justice, there shall be no peace in the streets!”

Akubundu Amazu of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party said, “Iran knows their friends and they know their enemy. This is why they stand with Palestine, Hezbollah and Yemen against the U.S. and Israel. We must all stand together on the right side of history because that is the only way we are going to win,” said Amazu.

Jack McCann, member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, addressed the crowd, “Gas and diesel prices are reaching record highs. It is estimated that this war has cost on average one billion dollars a day”

McCann continued, “Our government, in its conscious choice to prioritize bombs over babies, jails over jobs, has forfeited its right to exist. It is our job, the people of the United States, to unite all who can be united to overthrow the monopoly capitalist class. To bring an end to endless wars, we must bring an end to the system of capitalism.”

Philip Nguyen of San Jose Against War highlighted the organization’s divestment campaign targeting the city of San Jose, saying, “We are calling out the four city council members that voted to keep money invested in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide and ICE terror.”

Nguyen continued, “We will be continuing to escalate and will keep fighting until we win divestment – and we deal a material blow to the U.S. war machine and Israel!”

The crowd took to the streets and marched along a populated pedestrian path to supportive bystanders and car honks.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Palestine

By staff

Santa Ana, CA – El 21 de agosto, miembros de la Organización de Servicio del Condado de Orange (CSO OC) se unieron a familias cuyos seres queridos fueron asesinados por la policía para exigir justicia para Victor Lopez. 16 personas marcharon desde El Centro Cultural de México portando pancartas que exigían: “Justicia para Victor Lopez” y “Publiquen todas las grabaciones sin editar”. Mientras los manifestantes pasaban junto a un partido de fútbol, ahogaron el himno nacional de Estados Unidos con gritos de: “¿Qué queremos? ¡Justicia! ¿Y cuándo la queremos? ¡Ahora!”.

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By Derek Mejia

Participants in LA press conference denounce deputy sheriff gangs.

Los Angeles, CA – On September 15, over 50 residents of Los Angeles attended a board of supervisors meeting to demand the BOS take action to ban deputy gangs in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. African American and Chicano families impacted by deputy gangs mobilized to speak in favor of the motion.

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By staff

Gilroy, CA – On September 13, around 75 community members rallied together at San Ysidro Park for a victory rally and march to celebrate the court-ordered pause on construction of the nearby ICE facility.

Community Service Organization San José (CSO San José) called the action in collaboration with the San José Coalition Against Trump (SJCAT) after the Santa Clara County Court ruled in favor of a preliminary injunction, pausing the construction of the ICE detention center being built in Gilroy.

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By Rain Mendoza

 Community members table to hand out information packets and resources to immigrant communities.

Santa Ana, CA – On September 12, Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) and community members tabled in front of the well-known Salvadoran restaurant, El Salvador Café, to hand out crucial resources and information in response to Trump’s latest attack threatening to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadoran immigrants.

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By staff

Los Angeles, CA – At a busy corner in the Chicano neighborhood of Boyle Heights, dozens of activists and supporters rallied for Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This comes as part of a call to action, made by Legalization for All network, a national network of more than 25 grassroots organizations.

On 4th Street and Soto Street today, the scorching sun did little to dissuade the group of participants. Holding a Salvadoran flag, posters that demanded, “ICE out now!” and “Defend TPS,” the crowd chanted, “¡TPS! ¡Se lo merecen!” Which translates to “TPS, they deserve it!”

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By Masao Suzuki

San José, CA – On Tuesday, September 8, President Trump announced an escalation of his trade war with Canada with 50% tariffs, or taxes on imports, from Canada, for cheese and dairy products, furniture, golf carts, hides and leather, motorboats, paper, steel, and aluminum. The tariffs are to start Tuesday, September 15. In addition, Trump is banning Canadian motorcycles, beer, wine and liquor, as well as other products, to start in three weeks, on September 29.

This was in response to Canada’s retaliation to Trump’s original tariffs on Monday, September 7, of 15% to 50% on $20 billion of U.S. products, designed to match Trump’s initial tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods. In addition, Trump announced that U.S. tariffs on Canadian-made cars and car parts would go to 50% come January 1, 2027.

While the tariffs only cover a small share of Canada-United States trade, about 5%, this pattern of escalation could threaten trade with the United States’ second-largest trading partner after Mexico. But Trump’s verbal attacks and insults, such as that Canada should be the 51st state of the United States, and renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America”, has meant that almost three quarters of Canadians back their government’s resistance to U.S. demands. In contrast, only about 25% of Americans think that Trump should stick to being tough on Canada.

These new tariffs, and the price increases that they cause, are part of the growing unhappiness of Americans with their economic situation. The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index for early September, released on September 11, fell to 47.8 from 51.7 in August. This was lower than any economists had predicted.

#SanJoseCA #CA #Economy #CapitalismAndEconomy #Canada #TradeWar #Trump

By Tim Phan

Solidarity rally in San Jose, California.

San Jose, CA – On September 10, over 50 students, faculty and other campus workers rallied for labor rights on San Jose State University campus. Organized by the recently formed San José State Labor Coalition, the action sought to build solidarity with regards to core issues facing laborers such as low wages and hazardous working conditions.

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By staff

Los Angeles, CA – On Monday, September 7, Los Angeles Police Department officers shot a 44-year-old Chicano man named Zimran Canas in Boyle Heights. LAPD claimed Zimran was holding a tree trimming tool and walked towards the police officers. LAPD, like most police departments, is known to lie and try to villainize who they kill in an attempt to cover up their murders.

Centro CSO members mobilized to the area after the shooting in an attempt to talk to family members and neighbors. Some neighbors directly contradict the claims made by LAPD; a witness said they did not see LAPD officers offer any medical attention to Zimran Canas.

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By Drusie Kazanova

San Jose, CA – On September 7, around 150 workers and their allies gathered at San Jose City Hall for a Labor Day rally and march. Organized by the San Jose May Day Coalition, the theme of the action was “Labor Fights Back,” and the program highlighted local unions that are waging ongoing campaigns and contract negotiations.

Unions represented at the protest included the Santa Clara County Association of County Educators (ACE), Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Locals 2015, 1021, and 521, and the South Bay Labor Council which represents over 110 different unions.

The program was emceed by Megan Sweet, rank-and-file member of ATU 265, and Riju Krishna, president of ACE.

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By staff

Santa Ana, CA – On August 21, members of Community Service Organization, Orange County (CSO OC) joined families whose loved ones were killed by police to demand justice for Victor Lopez. 16 people marched from El Centro Cultural de Mexico carrying signs that demanded, “Justice for Victor Lopez” and “Release all unedited footage.” As marchers passed a soccer game, they drowned out the U.S. national anthem with cries of “What do we want? Justice! And when do we want it? Now!”

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By Ethan Maruyama

A protester holding signs.

San Jose, CA – On September 2, San Jose State University intended to host Northrop Grumman at the Fall ‘26 Business, Financial Services, and Logistics Job and Internship fair. Northrop Grumman, a weapons manufacturer which maintains $3 billion in contracts with the Defense Department, is a target for Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) ongoing campaign demanding SJSU cut ties with war profiteers.

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By Uriel Magdaleno

 'Can't stop, won't stop' at the San Jose commemoration of the 56th Chicano Moratorium

San José, CA – On Saturday, August 29, around 200 attendees and vendors came out to commemorate the 56th Chicano Moratorium in San José.

The 56th Chicano Moratorium was held in Backesto Park, where a new mural that featured local San José activists had been put up by Alfonso Salazar, after a long fight for Chicano representation in the park. Activists say it was important to hold it at Backesto Park to continue the Chicano struggle in San José.

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By Leilani Gonzalez

Leaders of the Chicano Moratorium in Los Angeles celebrate the Chicano struggle.

Los Angeles, CA – On August 29, 250 community members gathered at Mariachi Plaza to commemorate the 56th Chicano Moratorium. Over 30 organizations and small businesses joined the celebration, which included a folklorico dance, rap performance, speakers and free food. Carlos Montes, longtime Chicano revolutionary, was the keynote speaker.

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