While the United States produces more diesel fuel than it consumes, the difference is exported. With prices of diesel fuel much higher in many countries, this can pull up the prices of diesel fuel here in the United States.

The price of diesel has not had much of an impact on consumer prices, which rose almost 1% in March over February and 3.3% from a year earlier. But many businesses use diesel fuel for their trucks, farm equipment and construction equipment. Big corporations have begun to increase their prices to try to offset this. For example, the fuel surcharge for UPS rose to 27%, up from 21% before the war started.

But smaller businesses, like independent truckers, are often not able to do this. This means that their margins and income are cut, or they drive less, again cutting their revenue. Small farmers are also feeling the squeeze, not only with diesel prices, but prices of fertilizer are also up.

These higher costs will trickle up to consumers. While there was scant evidence of this in March, some price increases are likely in April and even more after that. While a big part of Trump’s election campaign in 2024 was him saying he was going to fight inflation, his tariff increases that began on so-called “Liberation Day” in April 2025, and then the war on Iran, have already pushed the Consumer Price Index to the highest rate since Trump took office.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Inflation #Iran

San Jose, CA – On April 22, Earth Day, over a dozen SJSU students led by Students for a Democratic Society disrupted the campus’ newly opened “AI Center for Civic and Social Good.”

The center opened on March 3 at Dr. Martin Luther King Library and is co-sponsored by the city of San Jose. The center also had the backing of several notable war profiteers, primarily Nvidia, Alphabet and OpenAI. Nvidia and OpenAI both have multi-million dollar contracts with the Department of War, and Alphabet has offered considerable technological support to Israel.

At 1:15 p.m., Students for a Democratic Society gathered outside the MLK Library and began a noise demonstration, aided in their efforts by a drummer. Chants included “AI Center, off our campus!” and “Admin plays with AI while Palestinian children die!”

Most chants drew attention to the complicity of AI corporations in U.S. warmongering, and how those same companies collaborate with SJSU.

While the disruption was happening, some SJSU students entered the library and hung a banner over the AI center, covering the signage which read “AI Center for Civic and Social Good,” and replacing it with the more fitting, “AI Center for War and Genocide.” SJSU administration was present and filmed the students, and about half an hour later they called custodial staff to remove the banner.

The program continued outside with a few speakers. Tim Phan from FRSO spoke on SDS’s ongoing negotiations with university administration and how they connected to the action.

“For the past year since [SDS’s] campaign against Lockheed Martin and companies complicit in genocide, they have demanded a meeting with President Cynthia,” Pham said. “And so far, she has refused to budge.”

Ethan Maruyama, SDS’s Social Committee chair stated, “The common denominator between these companies is that they are providing technology to help the U.S. and Israel surveil and kill civilians; your tuition money is funding this. As students, we want money for jobs and education, not for war and deportation.”

San Jose Against War member and former SDSer Jack McCann told the crowd, “Today marks two years since students at Cal Poly Humboldt occupied a building, fought off the police, and held the campus for a week demanding an end to Israel’s genocide and an end to university investments in companies complicit in this genocide.”

McCann continued, “Today, SJ State partners with companies complicit in the most horrific crimes against humanity. OpenAI provides software to the Israeli military that makes their weapons even more deadly. Nvidia provides the necessary hardware for this to happen. Google provides services for Israel to host their kill lists on. Is this what they mean by ‘Civic and Social Good?’”

The action called attention to AI companies’ many connections with U.S. war and Israeli apartheid, and a part of SDS SJSU’s larger, two-year campaign to pressure SJSU admin to cut ties with war profiteers. SDS is certain to continue mounting disruptions until the university administration finally decides to negotiate on their demands: no tech for genocide, and cut ties with war profiteers.

#SanJoseCA #CA #StudentMovement #SDS #AI

San Jose, CA – On Saturday, April 18, over 20 people gathered in front of the Microsoft office in Mountain View to protest the company’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Palestine, ICE’s deportation operations as well as their development of AI data centers causing ecological destruction.

Protestors held signs like, “San Jose: Divest from Alphabet and Microsoft” and “We will not be complicit.” Organizers hung up a large banner saying, “No U.S. tax $$ for Israeli occupation.” The crowd chanted, “Free Palestine” and “Microsoft you can’t hide, you’re committing genocide!”

Jack McCann, member of San Jose Against War, spoke to the crowd highlighting how Israel’s genocide on the Palestinian people also destroyed their ecology and water infrastructure.

McCann said, “Israel could not commit crimes on this massive scale without the digital infrastructure to collect and store data on who to kill next. Microsoft helps Israel by providing this technology that is essential to their crimes.”

Nassim Nouri of the Santa Clara County Green Party stated, “We have a government that is taken over by billionaires – by corporations like [Microsoft] – that put profit over people, planet and peace! They think nothing of taking lives and shedding blood of the people locally through ICE and abroad through Israel.”

Marcel Knightly of San Jose Against War said, “This is not just about data centers and contracts, it is about a system where corporations profit from war abroad and extraction at home, it’s about working-class communities being forced to sacrifice their water, electricity, health and dignity to executives can expand their empires.”

Philip Nguyen, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, spoke on how the climate crisis is built into the capitalist system, saying, “Endless wars and the sharpening climate crisis are both the natural outcome of the capitalist system, which is driven by unrestrained profit with no regard for human life or the future of our planet, and working and oppressed people all over the world will be the ones to suffer the consequences.”

Nguyen continued, “And that means that all working and oppressed people must unite to take on our common enemy once and for all. We must build a militant, fighting movement against these evil corporations and corrupt politicians and their endless wars.”

To commemorate Palestinian Prisoners Day, Donna Wallach of San Jose Against War read quotes from an article describing the torture and sexual violence that Palestinian prisoners experience in Israeli prisons.

John Duroyan from Students for a Democratic Society at San Jose State University (SJSU) spoke to the crowd, saying, “The number one emitter in the world is the U.S. military, and we must never forget that the climate struggle is inseparable with the anti-war struggle. Now SJSU is working with known war-profiteer Alphabet to open an ‘AI Center for Social Good’ on campus which the students will be mobilizing against.”

The crowd continued to chant outside the office building and cars driving by honked in solidarity.

#SanJoseCA #CA #EarthDay #AntiWarMovement #Environment #Palestine #SJAW #Divestment #Microsoft

The rise in prices was led by gasoline, up 21.2% in March. While the prices for consumer goods and services other than food and energy, or the so-called “core inflation rate” only ticked up 0.2% in March, the rise in fuel prices started to spill over into other goods and services. Airline fares, where jet fuel is a major cost, rose 2.7% in the month of March, and 14.9% from a year earlier.

This increase in prices and the rate of inflation follows the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, launched in the last days of February. In response to the massive U.S.-Israeli bombings, with well over 10,000 targets, Iran has retaliated against U.S. bases and businesses in the Persian Gulf and Israel itself. In addition, Iran has taken control of the Straits of Hormuz, through which flowed about 30% of the world’s exported oil, and large amounts of natural gas, urea (used to make fertilizer), and helium, used in chip manufacturing and other high-tech goods like MRI machines.

With a relative ceasefire, Trump administration negotiators led by Vice President Vance are meeting with Iranian representatives for talks hosted by Pakistan. The flow of oil, fuels and chemicals is still just a trickle, mainly ships holding Iranian oil, which now fetch almost twice as much as before the war started because of the rise in the price of oil and the fact that the Trump administration lifted sanctions on their oil. Even though oil futures have dropped back down below $100 a barrel, this is still 50% higher than their pre-war prices. The purchase price of actual, or physical oil, is another $30 a barrel higher. Even worse, with the last shiploads of oil that made it out of the Persian Gulf unloading their oil at their destinations, the soaring price of oil will soon become a physical shortage of oil in more countries.

Not surprisingly, this surge in prices weighed on consumers’ confidence. The University of Michigan’s Sentiment Index fell to a record low of 47.6. This is the lowest in the survey’s 74-year history, lower than the 2008 financial crisis and the oil-price shock of 1979 after the revolution in Iran that ended the reign of the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran and the beginning of today’s Islamic Republic.

With prices soaring, more and more Americans who were living paycheck to paycheck are falling behind. One of the businesses benefitting from hard times are pawn shops, which reported more business in March. There are now corporate chains of pawn shops, whose stocks are at multi-year highs, in effect profiting from economic problems.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Inflation

San Jose, CA – On Tuesday March 24, community members made public comment at the San Jose City Council meeting, demanding they enact an ethical investment policy.

At this meeting, the city council was conducting an annual review of investment policy. Around 40 people called on the city to divest from corporations tied to Israel and ICE, companies that include Alphabet, Amazon, Caterpillar, Honeywell and Microsoft.

For almost two years, San Jose Against War (SJAW) has been leading a divestment campaign targeting companies complicit in genocide, ethnic cleansing and incarceration. They mobilized to the Public Safety, Finance, and Strategic Support Committee meeting in February. They also conducted an email drive, enabling participants to send a pre-written email to all of their council members in just a few clicks. Additionally, SJAW did extensive flyering at activist events, calling people at the March meeting to join the call for ethical investment.

At the meeting, Council Members Ortiz and Kamei introduced a policy that would bar any new investments in companies that provide services to ICE, including Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and Amazon. Many community members spoke in favor of the policy, while even more spoke in favor of a more expansive policy that also includes companies that provide services to the Israeli military.

Serena Myjer, a local biologist, highlighted a recent precedent set by the council. “In 2020, the city of San Jose aligned with its constituents’ values and chose to amend city council investment policies so that the city would not make investments in entities that directly engage in expiration, production and refining or marketing fossil fuels.”

Philip Nguyen, SEIU Local 521 steward, emphasized divestment as a meaningful way to stand up for the immigrant community, “We have investments in companies that have historically facilitated the ripping apart of families and killing of people at home and abroad.” Nguyen continued, “With Alphabet having a partnership with Lockheed Martin to make their weapons more efficiently, as well as CBP [Customs and Border Patrol] to make their tactics of surveilling the border more deadly.”

A member of the Community Service Organization (CSO) stated, “We have seen ICE’s direct impacts in our communities here in San Jose, with deportations of South Bay families, with kidnappings, and even just recently, ICE against pulling a gun at community members for entering a lobby of a building in Southside San Jose.”

Marcel Knightly, a local educator, walked over four miles to make public comment, “San Jose is a sanctuary city, and we should reaffirm this by divesting and barring any future investment into companies such as Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, who have contracts with ICE and other deportation operations.”

Drusie Kazanova of SJAW told the crowd, “Since Trump has escalated his attacks… with American citizens being murdered in the streets by ICE, and our own San Jose community members having a gun pulled on them by the manager of the ICE office here in San Jose a couple weeks ago; it’s time to put our money where our mouths are.”

After 60 public comments with a strong majority in support of the proposed resolution, the city council ultimately voted to not approve a policy that would divest from companies that deal with ICE. The motion received a tie vote of four to four, needing six to pass. Those who spoke in favor met with SJAW outside the building shortly after the vote to debrief. People were eager to carry on the struggle, and together resolved that this would not be the end of the campaign.

The movement for divestment continues to grow and the people of San Jose’s fight for divestment from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide on Palestine will continue.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement

While stock prices rose when Trump announced he was postponing an escalation of the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign earlier, when he did this again on Thursday, stock fell on Friday. This shows that Wall Street is seeing through his almost weekly proclamations that the U.S. and Israel had “won,” or that Iran is desperate to negotiate an end to the war, that the war would be over soon, etc.

The reality is that Iran has taken effective control of the Straits of Hormuz, only letting through ships with Iranian oil or with cargos destined for non-U.S. allies such as China. Iran has been preparing for this attack for more than three decades, ever since the U.S. egged on Iraq to invade Iran in the 1980s.

Trump is actually the one who needs to end the war, as he becomes more and more unpopular just as the November midterm elections are coming up, threatening a loss of the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate from Republican control. Trump’s “Plan B” is to further escalate by putting “boots on the ground” as thousands of Marines and Army troops are on their way to the war zone. The administration is also asking for an additional $200 billion in military spending, which could only mean a longer and wider war.

The Trump administration has learned nothing from the trade war with China last year, where the U.S. ultimately had to back down as China matched tariff for tariff and then won with export controls on critical minerals. Nor did the administration learn from the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan. As one pundit said, “While the United States took 20 years to replace the Taliban with the Taliban in Afghanistan, Trump has managed to replace the Ayatollah Khamenei with Ayatollah Khamenei in 20 days!”

On Wall Street, the prices of bonds also fell, meaning that interest rates on the bonds went up. The interest rate on the benchmark ten-year treasury bond has gone up by almost half a percentage point, from 3.96% before the war started to going up by 0.4 to 0.6 percentage points, making buying a home even less affordable.

More and more financial analysts are coming around to the view that Wall Street investors are still underestimating the length and cost of the war, hoping that there will be a quick end. What Wall Street and the Trump administration don’t seem to understand is that while it only takes one side to start a war, it takes both sides to end a war. With Iran holding firm under the U.S.-Israeli bombs, and the weakness of the U.S. side showing when the Trump administration lifted sanctions on Iranian and Russian oil, it is not clear why Iran would want to end the war any time soon.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy

San Jose, CA – On March 18, over 300 members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which includes mental health professionals, clinicians and therapists, participated in a one-day strike at the Santa Clara Medical Center. The action was part of a larger strike across Northern California, which included over 2400 workers.

“We’re really trying to keep Kaiser accountable,” union member Ania Saeger said. “Our contract expired last September, and we're not making a lot of progress in the negotiation, especially around the language, with artificial intelligence, collaboration and really protections for our jobs.”

A reason for the strike was Kaiser’s improper implementation of artificial intelligence. For those in mental health, contact and a relationship between the patient and the counselor is crucial. Saeger explained how AI disrupts this relationship, stating, “You used to be able to call if you were a patient, [when you] needed something. We have this position that we rotate throughout the day, a counselor that is available throughout business hours. Kaiser changed it. They developed this call center where you cannot call the clinic directly. Patients are redirected and get frustrated; they either get a phone operator or AI to answer.”

Saeger emphasized that while the counselors and therapists were not opposed to AI assisting their jobs, they wanted assurances in the language of their contract that AI would not replace their jobs. This is language that Kaiser has refused to implement in their negotiations.

When asked how community members could support the NUHW in their contract struggle, Saeger answered, “Our patients have been instrumental to this movement. We have patients speak at our rallies. As human beings, we can relate stories, so we want our patients to get their stories out there.”

The strike also included a program at which the California Nurses Association, another union striking in solidarity, spoke. Pomaikai Neil, a nurse and representative of that union stated, “Kaiser wants to save money on the backs of healthcare workers. As registered nurses, we feel the pressure to work harder with less resources every time we miss our meal breaks, when we are told we will do the same job with less staff, or when we do grueling 16 hour shifts to make sure our patients are safe.”

Neil also stressed the issues posed by AI in the mental health field. “Imagine sharing your emotional information with your therapist and having them ask you if an artificial intelligence device can join in? Heavy usage of artificial intelligence can exacerbate psychosis and create dangerous relationships with unregulated technology.”

Neil continued, “The hallmark of mental health is human connection. A robot cannot learn empathy. CNA nurses stand with NUHW in their fight against the unilateral implementation of AI and we demand that Kaiser address the limited access to safe care by investing in staffing.”

NUHW and CNA are some of the many unions locked in struggle with Kaiser. Their demands surrounding AI are reflective of modern concerns around technology now melding with decades-long labor struggle. So long as Kaiser continues with further usage of AI and cost cutting around staffing, the labor struggle across different sectors of healthcare is sure to only heat up further.

#SanJoseCA #CA #Labor #Strike #Healthcare #NUHW #CNA #

San José, CA – The price of regular gasoline has soared a dollar a gallon on average since Trump ordered this country to war with Iran. According to the American Automobile Association or AAA, the average price has gone from $2.96 a gallon a month ago to $3.98 gallon on March 24, or more than 34%.

How high could they go? No one really knows, but according to my “Trump secretly loves California” theory, since Trump has brought the national price of gas closer where the California price was before the war started ($4.63), it is quite possible that $5 a gallon gasoline could be seen in gas stations across the country in the near future.

But gasoline prices are just the visible “tip of the iceberg” for consumer price inflation. Diesel prices are up 43% since the start of the war, even more in percentage terms than gasoline, and are now more than $5.35 a gallon on average nationwide. While very few individuals have cars that run on diesel, most trucks and farm equipment use diesel fuel. The rise in diesel prices will further squeeze smaller farmers and truckers, while the increase in costs will be showing up in food prices and the prices of almost all goods which are shipped to markets.

The cost of urea, the basic building block for nitrogen fertilizers, is also up 45% since the war started. Part of this is because the in response to the U.S.-Israeli attack and bombing campaign, most the major exporters of urea are either directly affected by the war (Saudi Arabia and Oman), or indirectly, as they (Egypt, China, Malaysia and Indonesia) import the natural and petroleum gas used in urea production from the Mideast. This will squeeze farmers even more, and some of the costs will pass through to higher food prices.

Finally, Qatar is a major producer and exporter of helium, which is a by-product of natural gas production. Helium is used in the production of MRI machines, production of semiconductors, and other industrial uses. Helium prices up 70 to 100%, will likely lead to shortages, depending on how long the war lasts.

While Trump has been saying from the start of the war, more than three weeks ago, that the war is almost over, the fact of the matter is that more than 5000 U.S. troops, both Marines and Army, are on the way to the Middle East, signaling another escalation of the war, with U.S. boots on the ground.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Inflation #Gas #Featured

San Jose, CA – On March 15, over 40 people gathered in downtown San Jose to demand an end to the U.S. war on Iran. They chanted “Hands off Iran,” to supportive honks from people driving past the protest. Community members waved Iranian and Palestinian signs and held signs reading, “No war on Iran” and “San Jose: divest from genocide.” The protest was part of the Anti-War Action Network National Day of Action.

Philip Nguyen of San Jose Against War stated, “On March 7, the United States and Israel bombed several Iranian oil storage facilities in Tehran, causing untold amounts of destruction and creating large black rainclouds with acid rain. These were not precision strikes on military targets; this was chemical warfare waged on civilians.”

Palestinian-American community member Dina Saba stated, “We are now spending more than $1 billion per day on this illegal war on Iran.”

Saba continued, “Our tax dollars are paying for Israel’s education, universal healthcare and subsidized housing while the average American continues to struggle to pay rent, to put food on the table, and is barely surviving paycheck to paycheck.”

Drusie Kazanova of Freedom Road Socialist Organization addressed the crowd, saying, “Iranians are being killed by the thousands, and everyday people in the United States who have nothing to gain from these criminal attacks are watching the prices of basic goods soar. American billionaires are the ones making this war, and the rest of us are being made to pay.”

Kazanova continued, “From Iraq, to Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran – these wars, which have killed millions, have all been waged in order to secure the economic and geopolitical interests of the billionaire ruling class.”

Nassim Nouri of the Green Party stated, “We are not represented. We all know it. And it doesn’t seem like all the shouting in the world that we do on the street is getting to the ears of those bought politicians that sit in Washington and feed us the lies about the evil people ‘over there.’”

Nouri continued, “The evil people are right here. Yes, we need a regime change – we need a regime change right here, in Washington D.C.”

John Duroyan of Students for Democratic Society at San Jose State University spoke about SDS’s campaign demanding that the university cut ties with war profiteers like Lockheed Martin, saying, “We say no jobs for genocide, no tech for genocide, no tech for war and intervention, no more money for Trump’s wars!”

Duroyan continued, “SJSU administration remains shamefully complicit. So while you in the community are fighting for divestment in the city, we the students are fighting for divestment on this campus.”

Nguyen gave a call to action to demand that the city of San Jose pass an ethical investment policy, saying, “San Jose Against War and other organizations are ramping up for the city council meeting where they’ll be voting on their annual investment portfolio. We’re going to show up and demand that they pass an ethical investment policy.”

Nguyen continued, “This policy would divest and bar any future investments in companies complicit in genocide, companies enabling ICE, and companies who profit from prisons.”

San Jose Against War and other organizations will be mobilizing to the San Jose City Council meeting at San Jose City Hall on Tuesday, March 24, at 1:30 p.m. to give public comment demanding ethical investment.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Iran

San José, CA – Over 100 people gathered on March 8 in downtown San José for a rally and march to Robert F. Peckham Federal Building courthouse. Protesters condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s brutalization of women throughout Trump’s second term, including Renee Nicole Good, who ICE fatally shot in Minneapolis.

San José organizations, as part of the San José Coalition Against Trump (SJCAT), called the rally to demand an end to Trump’s attacks on women, emphasizing immigrant women on this International Women's Day.

Trump’s immigration enforcement has resulted in the financial instability of households impacting undocumented families, advocates say.

Jessica Aviles, co-chair of the Community Service Organization San José (CSO SJ), highlighted women impacted in the South Bay by ICE. Aby Peńa, wife of Ulises Peña Lopez, and her daughter found themselves facing economic and health instability due to ICE’s separation of their family. “Although Aby has been faced with hardships, she has not backed down,” Aviles said. Aviles stated that CSO SJ continues to demand Legalization for All and ICE out of San José.

Community leader Teresita Garcia with Pacientes Defensoras spoke about the need to speak for impacted women and to be in solidarity with women who, due to Trump’s cuts, are finding it difficult to access medical treatment.

“We must unite to win all that can be won,” stated Megan Sweet, San José district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization member.

“There is no liberation for all women if immigrant women are still threatened by ICE,” Sweet continued, calling for solidarity with immigrant women. Sweet also condemned attacks against trans women in the United States and U.S. and Israeli bombing of women in Iran.

Shaena Reyes, San Jose Against War member stated, “We have seen recently in Iran, the U.S. and Israel bombed a girl’s school.” According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, the bombing killed at least 165 people. Reyes demanded that the city of San Jose pass an ethical investment policy, divesting city funds from major corporations such as Microsoft that have contracts with ICE and Israel.

Union president of the Association of County Educators, Riju Krishna, spoke out against layoffs and for standing in solidarity with educators in the South Bay who are currently fighting for a decent contract that defends education.

“Women, especially immigrant women, show up every single day. We speak, we stand up, we fight back,” Krishna stated. She condemned the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s proposed classroom closures as what would result in negatively impacting families and educators in San José.

“Our fight is bigger than one contract, because we stand together today for freedom, dignity and justice,” stated Krishna.

#SanJoseCA #CA #WomensMovement #InternationalWomensDay

This is about the same as the increase in the price of regular gasoline nationwide. According to the American Automobile Association, the price of gas had gone up 43 cents a gallon, or more than 14% since the war started on February 28.

I detoured past my daughter’s elementary school on my way home. It looked exactly the same, with a few children playing in the playground, about average for a non-school day. I was thinking of the girls’ school in Iran, which the United States had bombed on the first day of the war, killing some 175 people, mainly young girls, along with their teachers, school staff and likely a few parents. This was one of the United States so called “precision” missiles, which was guided to a civilian target, irrespective of the loss of life.

With the price of future contracts for delivery in April soaring above $100 a barrel on Sunday, March 8, up by almost 40% in the week since the war started, the price of gasoline and other petroleum products have even more room to rise. Diesel fuel is up about 14%, jet fuel is up over 50%, raising costs for trucking firms and airlines, with smaller businesses being hard hit. Larger corporations will use their market power to pass on the costs to consumers, while smaller firms are more likely to take losses, and if higher prices persist, even go out of business altogether.

According to the U.S. military, the war with Iran is costing about $1 billion per day. But Congressional Republicans have given an estimate that is twice as high, or $2 billion per day. Now nine days into the war, $10 to $20 billion dollars have already been spent, and the number grows with each passing day.

Another week and the costs of the war will be almost the same as the money the federal government saved by allowing the Affordable Care Act subsidy expansion to expire. At a time when food aid is being cut, health care is being cut, and more than 300,000 federal government staff have been cut, more and more of the claimed savings from those cuts are being spent on war.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Iran

San Jose, CA – On the evening of Tuesday, March 3, about 40 people gathered in front of the steps of Dr. MLK Jr. Library in the heart of downtown San Jose to protest U.S. intervention in Venezuela, the intensified blockade on Cuba, and the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

A colorful array of flags for Cuba, Venezuela and Iran flew, along with signs saying, “End the blockade on Cuba,” “Hands off Venezuela” and “No war with Iran.”

Drusie Kazanova, member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “It’s barely March, we’ve already seen Trump escalate his aggression against Cuba, Venezuela and Iran, three of the world’s strongest and most steadfast opponents of U.S. imperialism.”

Kazanova continued, “The decline of U.S. imperialism is accelerating. Trump is trying to preserve the dying U.S. empire, and control of the Middle East and Latin America is a part of that project.”

Nassim Nouri, an Iranian-American and member of the Green Party of Santa Clara County, said, “Every socialist country that has raised its fist, its hope, its humanity and its resources for the people, has been subjected to crushing attacks and sanctions and deprivation by the U.S. empire.”

Akubundu Amazu of the All African Peoples Revolutionary Party spoke to the crowd, “There is a common denominator between all these places that U.S. imperialism goes against and that is oil. They all have resources that this war machine desperately needs. But the people are organizing against this!”

Joan Simon of the San Jose Peace and Justice Center spoke about the difference in peoples’ rights in Cuba and the U.S. saying, “In the Cuban constitution everyone has the right to healthcare and education. Just think about how different our country could be if we prioritized people over profit. That is why Cuba is such a danger to the U.S.”

Dyon Capote, a Cuban-American and member of San Jose Against War said, “We will not be silent at the time when Trump launches wars of aggression, and justifies the kidnapping of Venezuela’s president. Nor will we remain silent when the U.S. intensifies a policy of economic warfare on Cuba!”

Sharat Lin, another member of the San Jose Peace and Justice speaking on their experience observing elections in Cuba and Venezuela and compared it to U.S. elections, saying, “The turnout in Cuba’s constitutional referendum was 90% whereas in the U.S. we’re lucky if we get 60% participation,” highlighting how much more confidence Cubans have in their democracy than their counterparts in the U.S.

Tim Phan of Students for a Democratic Society at San Jose State University stated, “We condemn the U.S. Israeli strikes on not just Iran, but on Palestine and the rest of the world!”

Phan continued, “From Mexico to the Philippines, to Palestine and Iran, we will stop the American war machine and say, ‘Hell no!’”

The rally ended with a call to action by San Jose Against War and their allies to mobilize at the San Jose City Council meeting on March 24 at 1:30 p.m. to demand the city pass an ethical investment policy which would divest and bar any further investment in companies with ties to Israel, ICE and the prison system.

#SanJoseCA #CA #Cuba #Venezuela #Iran #AntiWarMovement

San Jose, CA – On March 3, around 40 nurses affiliated with the California Nurses Association gathered after 2 p.m. near the Federal Building in downtown San Jose, to support healthcare for all and demanding that hospitals keep ICE out.

The protest speakers included nurses who had worked in healthcare for decades.

Monte Wright, a member of the California Nurses Association, who had been a nurse for 31 years, stated, “Most importantly, we're out to let the public know that healthcare's a human right, and that everybody deserves healthcare.”

Wright continued “Nobody should have to weigh their safety over getting healthcare. And when they come into our hospitals, it should be a sanctuary, not a place of fear.

In many cities, ICE targets immigrant patients. This has forced many to make the difficult choice of risking deportation to access treatment, or avoiding hospitals with potential ICE presence, having to endure life threatening medical conditions without a doctor.

When asked about the chief demands of the nurses, Wright stated, “One of our chief demands is that our public hospitals implement SP 81, which involves training our nurses, what to do when ICE arrives, training our nurses how to recognize a judicial warrant, and having clear signage in the hospital that shows restricted areas. The law has been enacted since September with an enforcement date of November, and to this day, it's not being readily enforced in our area, in our private hospitals.”

One such private hospital is Kaiser Permanente, of which Wright is an employee. UNAC had been on a four-week strike against Kaiser just last month. Wright briefly mentioned CNA’s struggle against Kaiser’s higherups, “Our contract will be up August 31. We want Kaiser to bargain fairly.”

“We also are protesting the Big Bad Bill that took away funding for Medicare and sent it directly to ICE,” he explained. “Around the U.S. citizens [are] dying, children detained. Their parents [are also] detained, and these detention centers are disgusting. So, yes, we are against ICE’s presence, especially don't want them in the Bay.”

When asked about how fellow workers could support striking nurses, Wright ended off emphasizing the importance of class solidarity. “Anytime you see nurses outside the hospital, you know there's a problem on the inside,” he said. “So today, we were out there protesting ICE in the Bay, and we call on our brothers and sisters in other unions to join us in solidarity. And, of course, that goes both ways. Nurses have always been by the sides of all unions in this area, and we always will be.”

The protest comes at a time of heightened activity among organized labor in the Bay area. With workers across all sectors standing strong against ICE and Trump, a strong front is building here, setting the stage for sharper labor struggles in the leadup to May Day and beyond.

#SanJoseCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #Labor

The job losses were widespread, including manufacturing, construction, transportation and warehousing, information, temporary help, health care, leisure and hospitality, and government all shedding jobs.

In addition, the job creation numbers for December were revised down by 65,000, meaning that instead of gaining 48,000 jobs as previously reported, there was a loss of 17,000. The very good January figures were also revised down by 4000, to 126,000. Taken together, only 7000 jobs were added in December through January, or about 2300 a month.

The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.4% from 4.3% in January. This is a rise of a whole percentage point from the recent low of 3.4% in April of 2023. In addition, the labor force participation rate dropped from 62.1% to 62%, which tends to lower the unemployment rate, as people with jobs who stop looking are counted as out of the labor force and not unemployed. The increase in joblessness was concentrated among oppressed nationalities as the unemployment rate for Asians, Blacks and Latinos all rose, while the unemployment rate for white Americans stayed the same.

In another sign of economic weakness, U.S. retail sales declined in January by 0.2%, followed by no gain in December. Retail sales figures are not adjusted for inflation, which means that when the changes in prices are taken into account, actual sales fell for the second month in a row (note: these sales figures are seasonally adjusted to take into account the annual bump in sales during the holidays). This decline was led by a 0.9% drop in auto sales, which, as a big-ticket item, often are the first to suffer an economic downturn.

While one month does not decide the direction of the economy (look at the large gain in jobs in January), if large job losses continue, this would be a sign the economy is entering a recession.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Employment

San Jose, CA – On Sunday, February 15, more than 300 people gathered at San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin to commemorate the signing of Executive Order 9066, which initiated the incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans into concentration camps during World War II.

Nihonmachi Outreach Committee has held the San Jose Day of Remembrance annually since 1981. The theme for this year’s event was “Neighbors, Not Enemies”, and began with an aspiration by Reverend John Oda of Wesley Methodist Church. Reverend Oda called for solidarity with the communities under attack from the Trump administration, including LGBTQ and immigrant communities. He highlighted the popular resistance to ICE activity in the Minneapolis area as an example of the action needed to protect our communities.

Vanessa Hatakeyama, emcee, said that the event is not only to honor and remember, but is also a call to act. Various local organizations had resource tables at the event, including San Jose Against War and Community Service Organization (CSO).

Keynote speaker Masao Suzuki drew a connection between the violence inflicted by ICE at home and the recent extra-judicial killings by the U.S. military in the Caribbean Sea and emphasized the responsibility of the masses to struggle against oppression.

Hatakeyama invited ten guests of honor to the front of the room, people who were incarcerated under EO 9066 or served for the U.S. during WWII. After this, Jake Shimada, a local musician, played an original piece on ukelele that he has composed over the past three years. The song represents resilience in the face of hardship and was dedicated to his family

Athar Siddeqee, chairman of the South Bay Islamic Association, was introduced to the stage to give a speech. He drew attention to the shared history of racist oppression endured by Japanese and Muslim Americans. Siddeqee spoke of the friendship and solidarity expressed by the Bay Area Japanese community following the events of September 11, 2001. At a time when Muslims faced increased racism, the Japanese community came to their doors and said, “We are here to support you and we have your back.” This story reflects that this year’s theme, Neighbors Not Enemies, is an integral part of the community’s values and actions and has been for generations.

After the speakers, the program moved to a candlelight vigil. Participants held electric candles and joined in a procession walking through the heart of Japantown before returning to the church.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #OppressedNationalities #SJAW #SJCSO

San Jose, CA – On Saturday February 28, over 100 people gathered on the corner of Stevens Creek and Winchester in San Jose to protest the U.S.– Israeli war on Iran. The emergency protest occurred less than 24 hours after news first broke about Israeli strikes on Iran, with the U.S. joining the bombing campaign shortly thereafter.

Protesters filled the sidewalks in the heart of one of San Jose’s busiest shopping districts, waving Iranian flags and chanting, “Hands off Iran.” They held signs that read, “No war on Iran” and “Silicon Valley has blood on its hands,” referring to Silicon Valley corporations like Alphabet and Microsoft, which provide technology to the Israeli and U.S. militaries.

Philip Nguyen of San Jose Against War kicked off the program, saying, “The bombs being used to murder the men, women, and children of Iran are paid for by our tax dollars.”

Nguyen continued, “San Jose Against War and other organizations are pushing an ethical investment campaign, targeting the city of San Jose to divest and bar any further investments in companies complicit in genocide, companies enabling ICE, companies who profit from prisons, and more.”

Drusie Kazanova of Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke about U.S. and Israeli retaliation against Iran for Iran’s support of Palestine, saying, “Iran is the strongest and largest member of the Axis of Resistance, providing logistical, military, and many other forms of support to the Palestinian Resistance.”

Kazanova continued, “Iran represents a real challenge to Israel’s genocidal apartheid regime and to U.S. imperialism in the Middle East. Iran thwarts U.S. imperialist control of the entire region by continuing to assert their sovereignty, despite U.S. attempts to control the region.”

Emer Martin of Vigil4Gaza stated, “The empire wants us to believe that Iran, Cuba and Venezuela are irrational, untrustworthy actors. But what these countries have in common is not extremism, it’s resistance.”

Martin continued, “Capitalism feeds on extraction, on domination, on endless war. The war industry is our enemy. The war industry has poisoned the earth and sacrificed our future for profit, and today it has littered a schoolyard with the bodies of 108 young girls.” Iranian media and officials reported that Israel bombed a girls’ elementary school in Minab.

Nassim Nouri, Iranian-American and Green Party member, spoke about U.S. sanctions, saying, “For 50 years, economic sanctions have crippled and have tortured the people of Iran. What other countries have been suffering from that? Cuba, Venezuela – there are many countries that are being persecuted through an economic war.”

“U.S. interventions, economic sanctions, manufactured coups have riddled the history of many countries,” Nouri continued.

Donna Wallach of San Jose Against War stated, “The United States has been an imperial power since the late 1800s, and the government has been stealing land and resources since the Europeans set foot on this continent.”

“We must stop this current illegal war,” Wallach continued. “People power is the answer. Our use of our money is the answer. It is time for us, the people, to realize our power, come together in our millions, come together as communities, and shut this system down!”

John Duroyan of Students for a Democratic Society at San Jose State University stated, “It’s important now more than ever to stand in solidarity with the people of Iran as its government fends off one of the cruelest, most nightmarish regimes in human history, the regime of Israel, backed by our taxpayer dollars, backed by war profiteers here in the United States, here in Silicon Valley.”

Duroyan voiced support for divestment both at the university level and at the municipal level, saying, “We are urging our local leaders, our elected officials to grow a damn spine and fight against these criminal, predatory wars that we the people want no part in.”

“We need to fight ceaselessly until each and every single one of these companies are divested from,” Duroyan continued.

San Jose Against War and their allies will be mobilizing to the San Jose City Council meeting on March 10 at 1:30 p.m. to demand that the city pass an ethical investment policy, banning investments in corporations with ties to Israel, ICE, and the prison system.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Iran #SJAW

San Jose, CA – On February 17, a dozen San José State University students gathered outside the administrative building to protest corporate war profiters that were participating in the Career Center’s Job & Internship. Students held signs that read “No war with Venezuela” and “Free Palestine.”

Protester John Duroyan explained that Hewlett Packard Enterprise “readily aid and abet Israel’s apartheid state, providing the Israelis with software and surveillance technologies, to better track and detain Palestinians.”

While students gathered outside, five San José State University students and alumni crowded the upstairs of the Student Union where the university’s career center was hosting the spring jobs fair.

For 20 minutes, the five students chanted, “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Trump’s crimes” inside the student union and “Cut ties with Lockheed now.” When the students began chanting, university administration attempted to stop the group from taking up space and speaking out against these companies on campus.

University administration eventually shifted tactics from body blocking to holding a measly written note on printer paper. It read, “You are in violation of Time, Place & Manner. Please take your protest outside or you will be referred to university conduct.”

While chanting, the protesters dispersed zines to the students waiting to enter the career fair. The zines read, “General Dynamics has ties to ICE and CBP and makes software to process and store data about your facial and body features or behaviors, an essential tool for CBP and ICE.”

Along with the zines, the protesters held up posters with pictures of Hind Rajab, the five-year-old girl in Gaza who was murdered along with her family members in 2024. They also held up pictures of detention centers where ICE holds people that they have kidnapped.

Eventually, university admin shut down the line into the career fair, and soon students were only allowed to exit the career fair but not enter. The line was shut down for one hour. After the line was shut down, the protesting students inside joined the protest that was taking place outside, merging the two actions.

Together, the students marched around the student union, chanting, “Admin, admin you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide.” They faced admin once again, but this time admin watched from the inside of the student union, refusing to listen to student’s demands for no jobs for genocide. The action continued for the next 40 minutes before concluding with a call to action for San José State University to cut ties with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin.

Later that week students planned on protesting a Lockheed Martin internship information session occurring on campus. However, as a result of the career fair disruption, Lockheed Martin and administration quietly moved the information session online with short notice, a partial victory for students’ “Lockheed off campus” campaign.

#SanJoseCA #CA #SJSU #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement

The court singled out Trump’s use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, or IEEPA, to levy tariffs on almost all countries and particular tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico – allegedly for facilitating the importation of fentanyl into the United States. The legal basis for the ruling was that the IEEPA makes no mention of tariffs.

This is the first major case where SCOTUS has limited the power of the presidency under Trump.

Trump was not happy about the decision, saying, “I can do anything I want” and re-imposed a global 10% tariff on imports using the Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15% in response to a “large and serious” balance of payments deficits. The United States has been running large and serious trade deficits for decades, mainly because U.S., European and Japanese corporations have offshored production meant for the U.S. market, for example Apple’s computers and smartphones.

However, this law only allows for tariffs for a period of 150 days, meaning that Trump would have to ask Congress to agree to an extension in July. This is very unlikely to happen with the midterm elections looming.

Trump is also likely to expand sectoral, or good specific tariffs under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 where imports are a “threat to national security.” He has already used this to put tariffs on aluminum, steel, copper, lumber and wood products. This act is commonly misused because the threat to national security is not defined.

For example, imported kitchen cabinets are being tariffed because the wood products industry is claimed to be important to national security. However, this act requires an investigation and finding by the Commerce Department which takes time and effort and cannot be done on a whim.

In a sign that the chaotic tariff rollout and retractions are not over, the day after Trump declared 10% global tariffs, he raised the rate to 15%, the maximum allowed by law. Still to come will be lawsuits by U.S. companies seeking to be reimbursed for the billions of dollars in the illegal tariffs that they paid. Finally, are the review of the USMCA (formerly NAFTA) coming up in July, where the United States is expected to try to tighten trade rules.

While the SCOTUS decision was a setback to Trump’s imperial presidency, it by no means a return to a more free trade approach.

Both Democrats and Republicans are likely to restrict trade, in particular with China, which is surpassing the United States in one industry after another. For example, Trump used the section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in his first term to impose tariffs on imports from China on the basis of “unreasonable or discriminatory” trade practices by a country as found by the U.S. trade representative. These tariffs were maintained by the Biden administration and continue to this day.

Even a future Democratic administration is likely to keep major tariffs, especially since there are now industries benefiting from protection.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Tariffs #SCOTUS #Trump

This meant the rate of economic growth for the entire year of 2025 was only 2.2%, as compared to 2.8% for all of 2024. Thus, despite Trump’s claim of “the best economy ever,” Trump’s trade war with the world and his efforts at mass deportations only served to slow the economy.

The biggest drag on economic growth in the fourth quarter of October to December was a drop in spending on goods and services by the federal government. This is due to the impact of DOGE employment cuts hitting in October, and the non-payment of government contracts and their workers during the shutdown (federal workers do get paid when a shutdown ends).

At the same time, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, or PCE, on a year over year basis accelerated slightly from 2.8% in the September to October period to 2.9% in the last three months of the year. Taking out food and energy, whose prices rise and fall more than other goods and services, the so-called “core” PCE rose 3% in the October to December period, up from 2.8% in the previous three months.

Trump has said that the war on rising prices is done, and declared victory on the affordability front, despite the reality of consumer prices rising at a faster rate. But the Federal Reserve Bank, which uses the PCE as the measure of inflation, will be looking at the data, making it less likely to lower interest rates in the near future.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #GDP

While Trump claimed that foreign companies would pay for the tariffs by being forced to cut their prices, this did not happen. This can be easily seen in the index of import prices, which was exactly the same in December of 2025 as it was a year earlier in December 2024.

Economic study after economic study said that 90% or more of the cost of the tariffs were being paid by U.S. businesses or consumers. The Trump administration finally had enough of hearing the truth, so their chief economist, Kevin Hassett, said that the authors one study (who were on the economic research staff of the New York Federal Reserve Bank) should be “disciplined.”

There are two reasons why Trumps tariffs were not able to bring back more manufacturing jobs.

If Trump’s goal was to bring back manufacturing to the United States, he needed to bring down the prices of goods and labor that manufacturing needs. Instead, he put tariffs on raw materials and intermediate goods (manufactured goods that are used to make finished products) like steel and aluminum.

Also, while Trump likes to harken back to the industrialization during the McKinley administration (1897-1901) when tariffs were high, he omits the fact that the factories of that time were filled with immigrant labor. Thus, Trump’s attempt at mass deportation and terrorizing immigrants are driving away the very workers needed to re-industrialize.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Tariffs #TradeDeficit