Dow Jones Industrial Average down in 2014

San José, CA – On Friday, Oct. 10, U.S. stock prices fell again, ending a week marked by ups and downs in the market. As measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 large U.S. corporations, stock prices have actually fallen slightly this year.

San José, CA – The Ebola epidemic has already killed as many as 5000 people in the west African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. It is now spreading to other countries such as Nigeria and Senegal in Africa, the U.S and Spain. One of the hardest hit sectors has been health workers, who make up as much as 10% of the victims. There has been a small but growing number of countries sending health workers to help the effort to contain the epidemic. Socialist Cuba stands out in leading this aid effort.

At 62.7%, lowest since 1978

San José, CA – On Oct. 3, the Department of Labor released their report on the job market for September. The report showed that the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), or the percentage of adults either working or looking for work, continued to decline, and hit a low not seen since 1978. Almost 100,000 jobless workers gave up their job search and left the labor market, helping the unemployment rate to go down to 5.9%, the lowest since summer of 2008.

Growing economic inequality means only the rich are getting richer

San José, CA – On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Census Bureau released their annual report on income and poverty for 2013. The report showed that the typical household had a small gain in their income for the first time since 2007. The median household income, at $51,939 was still below that of 1996, when adjusted for inflation. It is still down 8% from 2007 and 8.7% less than its peak in 1999.

Result of the federal cutoff of Extended Unemployment Benefits?

San José, CA – On Sept. 5, the Department of Labor’s monthly report on the job market said that employment grew more slowly in August. There was a rise of only 142,000 jobs, much less than the average of about 240,000 for the last six months. In addition, the Labor Department revised down the job gains for June and July by 28,000.

_Obama administration begins to speed deportations _

San José, CA – As more Central American children flee violence and poverty and seek to reunite with their families already in the U.S., anti-immigrant vigilantes are targeting buses carrying children. Republican politicians have likened the children to an invading army and have called for changing the law to allow for faster deportations.

San José, CA – On June 10, the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression (South Bay CAPR), the San Jose Peace and Justice Center, and Justice for Palestinians sponsored a rally at the Martin Luther King, Junior library in support of Rasmea Odeh. They called on the prosecutor to drop the charges and asked why the Obama administration was persecuting a victim of torture. In addition to those organizations, speakers from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), La Colectiva Justicia and the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS) gave solidarity statements and Kalila did a peace dance before and after the speakers.

San José, CA – On June 6, the Labor Department released the May report on the job market. While the unemployment stayed the same at 6.3%, a broader measure, called the labor force participation rate, remained at a 35 year low, of 62.8%. The labor force participation measures both those working and looking for work as a fraction of the adult population. At 62.8%, this is lowest rate since March of 1978, when far fewer women were in the workforce.

San José, CA – On May 27, President Obama told the head of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, to postpone his recommendations for changing deportations policies until after Congress wraps up in August. Under pressure from immigrant rights activists to stop the record number of deportations, more than 2 million, the President had promised a review of deportations back in March.

San José, CA – On Saturday, May 3rd, more than 60 people gathered at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in San José for a reception and program with Lynne Stewart organized by the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression with a generous donation of food for the reception from the National Lawyer’s Guild. The event raised more than $1100 to help with the health costs of Lynne Stewart who is battling cancer.