San Jose, CA – On Wednesday, March 26, at noon, around 60 students gathered by the San Jose State University Student Union for a speakout for Mahmoud Khalil and other victims of ICE detainments. The program of the action put forward demands on San Jose State administration and SJSU President Cynthia Teniente Matison for increased protection against ICE, especially for mixed status and undocumented students as well as activists.

The program began with chants. Slogans such as “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state!” and “We want justice you say how, release Mahmoud Khalil now!” Many chants and slogans revolved around SJSU administration’s inaction around ICE activity, particularly its lackluster response and lack of a statement against ICE. One such slogan encompassed these sentiments, “Admin, admin where’s your spine? You're enabling ICE’s crimes!”

The program then had a sequence of several speakers, first with SDS’s treasurer reading out Khalil’s letter from ICE detention.

Oli Harter, SDS’s political organizing co-chair told the crowd, “SJSU administration is all too familiar with silence. They stand on the sidelines, refusing to divest from war-profiteers and refusing to protect students from ICE.”

Harter continued, “SJSU students demand admin take real, material, measures in defending our community from ICE! We demand divestment from Lockheed Martin, we demand removal of student repression through TMP policies, we demand a statement condemning Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest, and we demand accountability from the cowardly dogs hiding in silence: And until then – No justice! No peace!”

Dominique Thomas from Black Women’s Collective stated, “This may feel like a temporary movement to some, but this is representative of a war we have been fighting alongside all of our ancestors. These wars are fueled by capitalism and white supremacy.”

A speaker from UNITE then emphasized that organization’s own demands, which they shared with the broader activist coalition, including full protection for undocumented and mixed status students.

Sofía Calderon, president of Mecha, spoke on how Trump’s policies reflect an increasingly bigoted political climate. “Mahmoud’s story, like many others reflected the experiences of undocumented folks across the country. Families are being torn apart,” she said. “All this rhetoric and these illegal detainment practices are cruel and evil.”

Finn Albano stated, “Lewelyn Dixon, a Filipina aunty who lived in the U.S. for 50 years as a migrant worker on a valid green card who had zero public ties to the pro-Palestinian movement was arrested and sent to a detention facility just as recently as four days ago. She was detained solely because she was a migrant.”

Nikki Flowers said, “I am the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor. I look around, and I see the current U.S. administration pushing for registries and identification cards. I see ICE kidnapping and disappearing Mahmoud and Leqaa, who are of a people undergoing genocide right now – Palestinians.”

Then, Rachel Abeyta, intern of Students for a Quality Education, read out a statement from her organization co-signed by SDS, SJP and other student organizations.

Lastly, John Duroyan, president of SDS San Jose chapter, gave a speech putting forward a demand towards SJSU admin to condemn Khalil’s arrest and ICE activity on the Bay Area, as well as repeating an ongoing demand centered around SJSU cutting ties with war profiteers.

After concluding remarks from the chant leaders, the attendees posted sticky notes with various demands around the exterior of the Student Union, demanding divestment, statements condemning the arrest, and freedom for Palestinians and victims of ICE detainment.

The action was called by Students for a Democratic Society, alongside other campus organizations including Black Women’s Collective, Students for Quality Education, UNITE, MeCha, League of Filipino Students, and Students Against Mass Incarceration, among several others.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement

San Jose, CA – On March 19, a crowd of 100 people gathered in front of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in the heart of downtown to protest the bombing of Gaza and the strikes on Yemen that have killed at least 400 Palestinians and 50 Yemenis.

Protesters held signs reading “We will not be complicit,” “Divest from Alphabet and Microsoft” and “Silicon Valley has blood on their hands.” They displayed a banner with “I support Palestinian Human Rights” for passing traffic to read and chanted “Free Palestine.”

Philip Nguyen, an SEIU 521 steward said, “The ceasefire was only temporary to reset Israel’s military forces – that much is clear now more than ever. Our taxpayer dollars are lining the pockets of war profiteers to sell bombs and drones.” Nguyen continued, “Our duty here is to fight like hell to turn off that money faucet! To boycott, to divest!”

Mike Annab, a Palestinian American community member with San Jose Against War, said, “The Palestinian and American people share a lot in common; they both share a love of freedom and liberty and a disdain for injustice and oppression.” Annab continued by encouraging the crowd, “You’re here. You showed up. Keep showing up for Gaza.”

Andy Schaefer of San Jose Against War highlighted the connection between Trump’s attacks domestically and abroad saying, “An attack against one is an attack against all. Whether reactionaries target our immigrant communities, as they did when ICE illegally kidnapped and assaulted Ulises, or if they target our Palestinian communities, as they did when they illegally kidnapped Mahmoud Khalil, or illegally kidnapped Leqaa Kordia, it’s clear that nobody is safe.”

Lena Hanson, a San Jose community member, addressed the crowd about their recent experiences in the West Bank recounting, “I held the hand of a dear friend two days before he died from cancer. He left behind a wife and four young children. Israel did not allow him to go into Jerusalem to get lifesaving treatment because that is what an occupying force does.”

Hanson continued, “We are witnessing Israel trying to normalize apartheid and we cannot let this happen – no normalizing genocide, no normalizing occupation!”

Drusie Kazanova, another organizer from San Jose Against War, commented on the attacks on the resistance, “Let us not be fooled – these attacks do not indicate the strength of the Zionist regime and its sponsor, the U.S. On the contrary, these shameful acts of cowardice are the signs of a dying empire. Just as an animal lashes out when mortally wounded, so do these paper tigers resort to genocidal violence when fighting a losing battle.”

Kazanova finished with a call to action, “As people living here in the belly of the beast, we must stand in solidarity with Gaza, Yemen, and the rest of the Axis of Resistance. We must continue to put pressure on our government, on corporations, on the media, and on all forces committing or enabling these genocidal attacks. We refuse to be complicit.”

#SanJoseCA #CA #Palestine #AntiWarMovement

San Jose, CA – On March 14, a crowd of 100 people braved the March winds to speak out in defense of Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the Palestine solidarity movement at New York’s Columbia University who faces deportation on the grounds of his political work. Khalil has not been charged with any crime.

Between chants of “Free Mahmoud Khalil,” community members spoke of the history and ongoing reality of political repression of mass movements by the U.S. and its allies.

Haddy Barghouti, a Palestinian transfer student at San Jose State University and political director of San Jose State University Students for Justice in Palestine, stated, “Khalil, like thousands of other Palestinian prisoners, has been unjustly detained under Israel’s brutal occupation. He is a victim of systematic oppression, locked away without due process, without justice. His freedom and the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners is essential to our cause. We cannot stand for a world where innocent people are imprisoned for resisting an occupation that has stripped them of their land, their dignity, and their rights.”

Allie Chen, a member of San Jose Against War told the crowd, “This assault on Mr. Khalil’s First Amendment rights, which again are the same as yours and mine, has the potential to reverberate and impact American citizens as well.”

Philip Nguyen, also of San Jose Against War said that Trump “plans to use the same forces that terrorize our undocumented community members to also target people who speak out against atrocities that the U.S. government is complicit in. The billions in funding that go to aid and abet Israel, ICE and the militarization of the border could instead be used to fund the people’s needs here, to funding universal healthcare, education, housing and public transportation.”

Nguyen ended with a call to build the organized movement, stating, “The fight continues, so I call onto you to get organized. Help build the movement for anti-war and divestment from genocide in San Jose and beyond.”

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement

San Jose, CA – During this week’s city council meeting, March 11, dozens of community members made public comments to demand that the city divest over $50 million from corporations with direct ties to Israel's genocide against Palestine.

Drusie Kazanova, a member of San Jose Against War, stated, “It is clear that the diverse and multicultural community of San Jose refuses to be complicit in genocide,” citing a divestment petition with over 1500 signatures, and endorsements from over 50 local businesses and community organizations. “I call on you to exercise your leadership and stand with your constituents by divesting all city funds from Israel's genocide against Palestine,” said Kazanova.

Philip Nguyen, a SEIU 521 steward, stated, “Divestment was effective in helping stop apartheid in South Africa, and it will be effective now.” San Jose adopted its “South Africa-free investment policy” in 1985 after a protracted struggle for divestment from apartheid, setting a clear precedent for today's divestment demand.

Uriel Magdaleno, a community organizer with Silicon Valley Immigration Committee, asked, “What is preventing the city council from divesting from genocide? We should focus more on prioritizing what benefits our entire community. I want to commend the city council for recently passing a resolution to reaffirm the city’s status as a sanctuary city. We also further funded the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network,” referring to a local network that mobilizes when ICE activity is reported in the region.

“We need to prioritize expanding capacity of free legal services here for our immigrant community,” continued Magdaleno.

Public comment sparked further discussion from the city council. Councilmember Peter Ortiz, representing San Jose’s District 5, called on Maria Öberg, the city’s finance director, to speak on the city's current policy on social responsibility as it relates to investment and contracting. Öberg noted that the current investment policy has a social responsibility clause, meaning “if [the city] evaluates two investments that have the same generic terms and interest rates, we would favor buying a green bond for example.” Ortiz then asked Öberg to investigate any concerns in regards to entities that the city is invested in.

Councilmember Ortiz finished by thanking the community members for speaking, saying, “Thank you people for coming, I think it’s timely to have this conversation – not just on this issue, there's a lot of things corporations are doing right now that are impacting our community. For example, a lot of these companies are investing in measures to come after our immigrant population, in the east side – a conversation is warranted. Thank you so much.”

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement

San Jose, CA – On Monday, March 10, around 1500 bus and light rail operators and mechanics for Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), walked off the job. The workers are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265. This is the first strike at the VTA since its founding in 1973.

Around 9 a.m. upwards of 70 ATU rank-and-file members could be seen picketing in front of the VTA headquarters as the strike began. Pickets were held at four other light rail and bus yards beginning at 4 a.m.

VTA and ATU have been in contract negotiations since August. After six months of bargaining, the ATU members decided to call a strike – which was approved by more than 96% of the union’s membership. The strike vote came after negotiations fell through and their contract expired last week.

SEIU 521, representing roughly 200 of VTA’s office workers, bus and light rail yard maintenance roles are also currently negotiating with VTA management and may be affected by the ongoing strike.

Raj Singh, ATU Local 265 president and business agent, picketed with rank-and-file members in front of the VTA headquarters and said, “Our current demands at this point are fair compensation, but our top priority is our arbitration clause – a dispute resolution process. Over the last year and half the agency has decided that on a handful of items that they were not going to participate in our arbitration proceedings.”

Singh continued, “I don’t understand why they don’t realize how unfair it is for [management] to just unilaterally decide if an issue has any merit or not. In a sense, it makes it so that all our employees are essentially at-will employees if we can’t challenge the decision that they come out with in regard to discipline issues.”

With the workers on strike, transit riders will need to plan alternatives to get to school and work. ATU has announced 24-hour picket lines at the VTA headquarters as well as at four transit yards until another tentative agreement is reached between ATU and VTA.

#SanJoseCA #CA #Labor #Transit #ATU #Strike #Feature

Behind the drop in the stock markets was the growing realization of the economic costs of Trump’s trade wars and the growing possibility of a recession. The worry is that Trump’s tariffs will lift import prices, causing inflation to go up and production to go down because of higher costs. This so-called “supply-shock” would be a (hopefully) milder version of the COVID-19 pandemic impact in 2020.

On Monday, the Canadian province of Ontario imposed a 25% surcharge on the electricity it exports to the United States in response to Trump’s tariffs. About 1.5 million households and businesses in the states of Michigan, Minnesota and New York use Canadian electricity. The Premier of Ontario also said that they could shut off electricity exports altogether if Trump escalated his trade war on Canada.

The same day, China’s previously announced response to Trump’s tariffs also went into effect. It consisted of 15% tariffs on chicken, wheat and corn and 10% tariffs on soybeans, pork, beer and fruit. China also limited purchases of Chinese goods by 15 U.S. companies and banned ten from doing business in China. These agricultural tariffs are both an attempt to hit back at U.S. farmers, which is one of Trump’s bases of support, and reflect the progress China has made in applying technology including AI, global positioning (what we call GPS, but China has its own system by Baidu), and drones to agriculture.

Further, Trump’s 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel for all countries are scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday. The tariffs on aluminum will hit Canada the hardest, as they are the single largest country exporting aluminum to the United States. In fact, Canada’s exports are about the same as total U.S. production of aluminum. While steel imports are only less than a quarter of total U.S. steel consumption, Canada is still the largest exporter of steel to the United States, with Mexico as number two.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Trump #Tariffs #StockMarket

The first crack was a drop in the labor force participation rate, meaning that fewer people were working or looking for work. The 0.2% drop, while small, would have increased the unemployment rate by the same percentage, to 4.3% if those who stopped looking for work kept looking.

A second crack was the very large increase in the number of people who reported working part time because they couldn’t find full-time work, which increased by 460,000 people. This number boosted the broadest measure of unemployment, which includes these involuntary part-time workers, along with those who gave up looking and those who want to work, but just didn’t look in February, to 8%. This was the highest level since October of 2021, when the economy was recovering from the 2020 recession.

In the report, the federal government also shed 10,000 jobs in February. The report is based on a survey taken during the second week of the month, which was before Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) took a chainsaw to federal workers. February’s loss, which was the biggest in over three years, is most likely because of the federal government’s hiring freeze that began on day one of the new administration. But the report on March and April is likely to show much larger losses, dragging down future jobs numbers. Besides the direct loss of federal jobs, a roughly equal number of private sector jobs could be lost as Musk’s DOGE canceled payments to many government contractors, including for work already done – a tactic that Trump was infamous for in his business as he tried not to pay contractors for work already completed.

In another warning of future weakness, job cut announcements came to more than 170,000 in February. This was double the rate of a year ago, and the largest amount since July of 2020, right after the recession.

Last but certainly not least, future tariff increases by the Trump administration are coming in hot and heavy for the next month. These include 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel for all countries on March 12. Then in April, the 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian cars and other products meeting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) standards for North American production will go into effect.

On April 2, Trump will get a report on all other countries’ tariff rates, which will be inflated by including non-tariff taxes such as value-added taxes, or VATs. Trump has threatened to match these “tariff” levels, which are all higher than the U.S. which does not use the VAT.

Trump has also threatened, without a date or rate, to impose tariffs on copper, cars, semiconductor chips, medical drugs, and countries with taxes on digital services. The latest is that he has threatened 250% tariffs on Canadian lumber and dairy exports to the United States.

Next week, the monthly report on consumer prices will come out. While most of Trump’s tariffs were not implemented in February, except of a 10% tariff across the board on imports from China, the inflation rate is expected to rise as businesses raise prices in advance of tariffs.

Besides boosting prices, Trump’s tariffs will act as a drag on the economy. The auto industry will be especially hard hit, as the integrated supply chains between Canada, Mexico and the United States start to unravel. Everything that uses aluminum will be hit, with 45% of U.S. aluminum coming from Canada alone. Canada also supplies almost a third of all lumber used in the United States, which will raise costs and slow construction of new homes.

If left unchecked, Trump’s tariff tantrums will go from accelerating the economic decline of the United States to pulling at the very fabric of the globalized U.S. economy.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy

Canada immediately hit back, with tariffs on $30 billion (Canadian) or about $20 billion U.S., with tariffs on another $125 billion (Canadian) or about $80 billion U.S. of U.S. goods, to go into effect in three weeks. China also hit back, putting 10-15% tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports, to go into effect March 10. Mexico’s response was more subdued, with the Mexican president saying that she would announce their response on Sunday, March 9.

While the immediate counter-tariffs were somewhat restrained, as both Canada and China would like further talks, the Canadian Prime Minister and the Chinese representative from the Foreign Ministry used very strong language.

Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada described Trump’s tariffs as an existential threat to the country, saying the tariffs are designed to cause “a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us” referring to Trump’s repeated desire to make Canada a 51st state. Public sentiment in Canada has turned anti-American, with Canadian hockey fans booing The Star-Spangled Banner when it played at a professional hockey game in Canada. China’s foreign ministry representative also used strong language, saying “if war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.” 

The immediate impact of the tariffs will be to cause a logjam of imports and exports at the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico. While many Chinese goods have been placed under tariffs since Trump’s first term, most goods crossing to and from Mexico and Canada largely had no tariffs and imposing them will be a logistical nightmare. This will lead to shortages, somewhat like the early days of the COVID pandemic, which also disrupted trade.

The second impact will be higher prices. Some of these price increases have already started. Others will show up in days. The amount that consumers will have to pay will vary by product. If there is a lot of competition in terms of other countries making the item, as in the case of shoes, the 20% tariffs on China will mean about an 8% increase in prices. More expensive products sold to people willing to pay more will see a larger pass-through to the consumer, such as iPhones, which could rise 15% in price. Finally, where there are almost no alternatives, such as avocados from Mexico, the 25% tariff could mean a 20% jump in prices.

One of the most expensive goods to be hit with tariffs will be automobiles, where U.S, Japanese and German corporations have factories. Here prices could rise by 15% or more, with the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Over the last 30 years these car corporations have built integrated supply chains spanning all three countries in the wake of the NAFTA free trade agreement. Many auto parts cross the border many times, meaning that the 25% tariff might be applied not once, but multiple times.

Not only will the tariffs raise prices, they threaten economic recessions in Canada, Mexico and even in the United States. While the United States is less dependent on trade than Canada and Mexico, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta revised their estimate for U.S. Gross Domestic Product for the first three months of the year down to a negative 3.5% growth. This sharp drop in production, while not officially a recession, would typically be seen in a recession. 

To make matters worse, Trump is planning for even more tariffs. On March 12, Trump will put 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump has said that, on April 2, he will start tariffs on cars, medical drugs and semiconductors. Trump also plans to announce matching tariffs for every country, as his team is searching for foreign taxes that they could label as tariffs.

 #SanJoseCA #NAFTA #TradeWar #Trump #Tariffs

In the last 15 years, major workers’ strikes have been on the upswing since an all-time low in 2009. That year, there were only five major strikes, with 12,500 worker out on the picket line. The total number of days of work lost because of strikes that year was only 124,000.

But the number of strikes, striking workers, and days out on strike is still much lower than the recent peak in 1974, when there were 424 major strikes. That year, almost 1.8 million workers, or more than six times as many as 2024, were out on strike and almost 32 million days of work didn’t happen.

In terms of sectors, 14% of the workers on strike last year were in manufacturing, almost the same as their share of workers which was 13.8% in 2023 (latest data available).

Government workers, who make up only 11.8% of the workforce, were more likely to go on strike, with 42% of strikers working for a government at local and state levels. Government workers are more likely to be in a union, with 32% of government workers belonging to unions as opposed to less than 6% for the private sector workers.

However, the ratio of government to private sector workers on strike can vary a lot. In 2023, private sector strike numbers surged, with the strikes at UAW and Kaiser Permanente. However, in 2018 there was a wave of public school teacher strikes, with statewide strikes by teachers in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona, along with local strikes in many other states driving up strike days among government workers.

#SanJoseCA #CA #Labor #Strike #BLS

The fall in spending was led by durable goods, especially cars and recreational vehicles, which fell by 3% from December. Concerns about rising inflation from Trump’s tariff plans, a slowing labor market as seen in rising claims for unemployment insurance, and concern about DOGE cuts, beginning with $420 million in government contracts, all weighed on consumer willpower to spend.

Consumer spending in the United States has become more and more reliant on purchases of the top 10% of households by income. Fueled by gains in the stock market, cryptocurrencies and real estate, the top 10% have unleashed what the Wall Street Journal called a “cash cannon.” At the same time, most people are being squeezed by higher prices, including interest costs and home insurance, which are not counted in official government inflation figures. Rising debt problems, longer lines at food banks and drooping consumer confidence measures are all signs of this.

While President Trump likes to compare himself to President McKinley, his attempts to cut the trade deficit through higher tariffs and decreasing government spending by slashing federal employees and cutting contracts is more like Herbert Hoover, whose policies helped turn a bad recession into a depression in the 1930s.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy

The Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees or UCFE is counted separately and takes a week longer to report. New claims for UCFE show a 20% jump since Trump’s inauguration, more than the increase in UI claims. But this number is likely to understate the impact of the federal employees firings, as they may be denied UCFE because their termination letter says that they are being fired because of poor performance.

The DOGE chainsaw wielded by Elon Musk and backed by Trump is spreading to the private sector through suspension of grants and less overall spending by former federal employees. New claims for unemployment insurance in the Washington, DC aera, where many federal employees live, are rising even faster than the country as a whole. Washington DC new claims have almost doubled since Trump took office.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Unemployment

San José, CA – El domingo 9 de febrero, el Comité de Inmigración de Silicon Valley, junto con más de 200 miembros de la comunidad, realizó una protesta y una marcha en contra de la agenda del presidente Trump y el reciente aumento de actividad de ICE en Eastside San José.

La acción – realizada en Eastside San José (ESSJ), lo cual es una comunidad compuesta por chicanos y latinos – fue parte de la Semana de Acción de la Red de Legalización Para Todos.

La protesta empezó con consignas dirigidas hacia ICE y Trump, seguidas por un breve programa de oradores.

Uriel Magadaleno del Comité de Inmigracion de Silicon Valley habló sobre la presencia de ICE en Eastside, comentó, “Es a través de la lucha del pueblo y el movimiento popular que resistiremos a Trump y las instituciones racistas que él intentará usar y atacarnos. Necesitamos formar comités de defensa en nuestros vecindarios.”

“Necesitamos proteger a nuestra comunidad inmigrante de ICE,” continuó Magdaleno. Comentó a continuación acerca de la actividad de ICE en ESSJ, llamando a un boicot contra la tienda Target en la esquina de Story y King para “exigir que dejen de colaborar con ICE, permitiendo que se estacionen en su estacionamiento.”

Ese sitio de Target ha sido el punto focal de recientes marchas en ESSJ, ya que ha permitido que ICE lleve a cabo operaciones detrás de la tienda y en su estacionamiento.

Cesar Ruiz de Agenda Humana habló sobre la importancia de organizar a los jóvenes y cómo tenía orgullo de ver “estudiantes de preparatoria realizar paros estudiantiles para los derechos de los inmigrantes” en las últimas semanas. También contó cómo estuvo involucrado en las Mega Marchas del Primero de Mayo de 2006. Ruiz continuó enfatizando la importancia del Primero de Mayo y la lucha por los inmigrantes y los trabajadores, diciendo, “Estamos aquí por el largo plazo, estamos aquí para luchar, estamos aquí para ganar.”

Las Mega Marchas de May Day de 2006, también conocidas como, “Un día sin inmigrantes,” fueron en respuesta a un proyecto de ley propuesto en el Congreso, HR 4437. Este proyecto, también conocido como el Acto de Protección de la Frontera, Antiterrorismo y Control de Inmigración Ilegal de 2005, habría convertido en felones a cualquier persona indocumentada y a quienes les brindaran ayuda

Veronica Ibanez de Papeles Para Todos habló sobre por qué es tan importante organizar por los derechos de los inmigrantes, y sobre todo de los indocumentados, explicó, “Yo he vivido aquí por 25 años, y no he podido regresar a mi país de origen, mis padres ya fallecieron y no pude estar allí.” Ibanez continuó, “Eso es por qué sigo luchando por los derechos de los inmigrantes, porque tenemos el derecho de visitar nuestro país de origen y regresar a casa.”

Los manifestantes marcharon de la Plaza de Herencia Mexicana, un monumento en Eastside San José, hasta la esquina de Story y King, un sitio conocido por ser el punto de partida de las Mega Marchas del Primero de Mayo de 2006. Durante la marcha, manifestantes corearon, “Abajo, abajo la deportación, arriba, arriba la inmigración” y “¡San José, escucha, estamos en la lucha!”

Al alcanzar la esquina de Story and King, la marcha continuó hacia el Target dentro de la plaza en la intersección. Mientras los manifestantes pasaban por delante, gritaron, “¡Target, escucha, estamos en la lucha!”

Después de concluir las consignas contra Target, los participantes se reunieron en la esquina de Story y King y continuaron con la manifestación.

Magadeleno concluyó la acción diciendo a la gente presente que ahora es más importante que nunca organizarse y que debemos construir un frente unido en contra de Trump.

#SanJoseCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #SVIC #L4A #PPT

The day after Trump announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico, on February 1, a Canadian utility with U.S. customers announced that their rates would be rising with the new tariffs. Outdoing this was Nucor, the largest producer of steel in the United States, which has raised the price of its steel four times since January. The company plans to get ahead of Trump’s planned 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel, which are to take affect March 12, even though their steel in made in the United States and not subject to tariffs. They are using the same playbook as in 2018, during the first Trump administration. When Trump put 25% tariffs on imports of steel, domestic steel producers raised their prices an average of 22%, boosting profits but not production.

Last but not least, the price of gasoline is about to begin its seasonal rise. On average, the price of gas hits a low in February, and then starts to rise during the spring and summer. While this is not the fault of any of Trump’s policies, it certainly goes against his pledge to bring down the price of gasoline.

Candidate Trump pledged to bring down prices as president. This was a big part of his victory last November, as voters turned away from the Democratic Party candidates, who were deaf to working people’s complaints about inflation. But like a true politician, Trump is turning away from this goal and actually acting to make it worse with reciprocal tariffs on all countries to go into effect in April.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, one of some 13 billionaires helping billionaire Trump to manage the federal government, recently said, with a smiling face, that Trump’s actions were “disinflationary.” What he meant by this is that Trump’s DOGE chief, Elon Musk was taking an axe to federal payrolls, cutting or putting on leave some 30,000 and threatening 2 million others with layoffs.

The spreading uncertainty and pain is already reducing spending, which will tend to limit price rises at the cost of disrupting the lives of tens of thousands of civil servants. Trump is stripping away the mask from the time when two-faced politicians used to assure the people while carrying out the wishes of billionaires. But now with the billionaires in charge, there is no more pretense, so they smile while wielding a chainsaw to our jobs and pocketbook.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Inflation #Trump

San Jose, CA – 30 community members gathered at the San Jose Peace and Justice center, February 22, to celebrate the release of Leonard Peltier from prison and his return home.

Peltier, a leader of the American Indian Movement, had been the longest-held political prisoner in the U.S. After five decades of constant advocacy from activists worldwide calling for his release, Peltier finally returned home on February 18 after former President Biden commuted his sentence just before leaving office.

Members of the community gathered to watch a video of Peltier's welcome home celebration, hosted by the NDN Collective on the Turtle Mountain reservation, in North Dakota. After the video, the crowd assembled outside to watch a series of spoken word, dance and musical performances to celebrate the occasion.

Donna Wallach, a leading organizer with Leonard Peltier Support Group Silicon Valley, said, “I’m so happy. I won’t say I never gave up but I always had it in my mind that he was going to get free. If he could struggle from inside for all that he’s been through then who am I to give up on his freedom? He sacrificed 50 years for unity and for freedom for indigenous people and their sovereignty.”

Wallach continued, “I think he will be a force to unite all the tribes together to lead the land back movement. Even with this horrendous administration we have right now – this is the struggle for sovereignty, land back and indigenous recognition.”

Bob Jung of Vigil for Gaza said, “This is great, people fight for social justice and it seems like there’s very few times we win and it’s time to really savor this.” Jung continued, “I’d like to see all the allies coming to support each other – whether it’s the American Indian Movement, immigration, or what’s going on in Palestine.”

Drusie Kazanova of San Jose Against War, which is a member organization of the International League of People’s Struggle, read the ILPS statement on Peltier's release. “While Biden was the one who signed the act to commute Leonard’s sentence, it is not due to any goodwill from the former president who poured endless amounts of money into the genocidal war on Palestine, sold off indigenous lands to fossil fuel corporations and led a campaign of massive state repression against peoples’ movements in the U.S. and abroad,”

Kazanova continued, “It was the mass movement that held high the demand to free Leonard while exposing the imperialist system for keeping him imprisoned unjustly for a crime that was widely known to have been charged under falsified evidence.”

After the performances the event included a open mic segment for community members to speak their mind in honor of Peltier’s freedom.

Wallach expressed the desire to continue organizing to shine a light on other political prisoners such as Mumia Abu Jamal, The Holy Land 5 and many others.

#SanJoseCA #CA #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalPrisoners #LeonardPeltier

The S&P Purchasing Managers Index fell in February to 51.6, just above the 50.0 line where the economy is neither growing nor shrinking. The services part of the index actually dropped below 50, to 49.7, showing that the service sector was starting to slow. The “Trump Bump” of economic and financial enthusiasm has ended after just a month in office, as concern rose among businesses about the impact of his tariffs and deportations.

A separate report, on the sale of existing homes by the National Association of Realtors, saw sales fall by almost 5% in January, as compared to December of 2024. Interest rates have been rising. Trump’s proposed tariffs have led to greater expectations of higher inflation. Mortgage interest rates topped 7% in January, making home loans more expensive to pay off. While higher interest rates affect the demand for homes, as Trump’s deportation raids begin to reduce the number of construction workers, the supply of new homes will fall, pushing prices up even more and making them even less affordable.

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index fell almost 10%, to 64.7 in February, down from 71.7 in January. A big part of this was the rise in expected inflation over the next year, from 3.3% in January to 4.3% in February.

The largest outbreak of stagflation in the United States was in 1973 and 1974, when inflation and unemployment rose. Typically, these indicators move in opposite directions. The recession and rising inflation showed the post-World War II economic boom in the United States was over, and that the relative decline of the U.S. economy had begun. Today’s stagflation is a sign that the U.S. economic decline is accelerating. While Trump was largely elected because of widespread dissatisfaction with the economy, especially inflation, in fact, his policies were going to accelerate both the economy’s decline and rising prices.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Inflation #StockMarket

San Jose, CA – On Thursday, February 20, the family of Antonio Guzman Lopez, Students for a Democratic Society, Justice for Josiah, the Aztec Dancers and several other organizations and community members held a vigil honoring the memory of Lopez, an undocumented man killed by San Jose State’s on-campus police 11 years ago, on February 21, 2014.

His murder was caught on body camera footage, where he was shot twice by police sergeant Mike Santos. Santos faced no repercussions for the murder, having been reinstated shortly after the incident.

The vigil began at 6:30 p.m., around the memorial on San Salvador Street. A blessing and prayer were performed by the Aztec dancers. The program then began with Laurie Valdez, who was Lopez’s partner, giving a speech, along with Josiah, her son, who was four years old at the time his father was murdered.

Valdez began her speech by not only calling attention to Lopez’s murder, but also the families of other victims of police brutality. “I’m so glad that [Antonio’s] name is still being remembered,” said Valdez. “As long as we continue to say his name, his memory will never die.”

Josiah then gave his speech, reflecting on the difficulties of growing up without his father, and the trauma of the killing. He ended his speech off saying, “I’m 15 years old now, four when [the murder] happened. I’m still fighting, still getting stronger each day. We won’t forget him, or anyone else that was killed.”

John Duroyan, president of San Jose Students for a Democratic Society, led chants and introduced several other speakers, including Uriel Magdaleno from Silicon Valley Immigration Committee, Oli Harter from SDS and Students against Mass Incarceration, and Romaine Charite, San Jose SDS’s political organizing chair.

Magdaleno drew attention to the ongoing attacks on undocumented immigrants, stating, “What is troubling about Antonio Guzman's case is the rhetoric around it - the rhetoric continuing to accuse undocumented immigrants of being criminals is very harmful rhetoric. The current Trump administration is just increasing that amount of hate against undocumented immigrants, against our community members.”

Harter called back to previous instances of police brutality, and the importance of individualizing and humanizing victims of injustice at the hands of police killings, stating, “The names rotate but the injustice remains. When asked to say their names, we take the time to individualize the martyr.”

The program came to a conclusion with Valdez giving final remarks, and the vigil attendees writing Antonio’s name in chalk all over the street next to the memorial.

#SanJoseCA #AntonioGuzman #StopPoliceCrimes #PoliceViolence #JusticeforAntonioGuzman #SDS #SJSDS #JusticeforJosiah #AztecDancers #SJSUPD #SJSU #SanJoseState

San Jose, CA – On Sunday, February 9, the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee along with over 200 community members held a protest and march against President Trump's agenda and the recent escalation of ICE activity in the Eastside of San Jose.

The action – held in Eastside San Jose (ESSJ), which is a community made up of Chicanos and Latinos – was part of the Legalization for All Network's Week of Action.

The protest kicked off with chants aimed at ICE and Trump, followed by a short program of speakers.

Uriel Magadaleno from the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee spoke about the ICE presence in the Eastside, stating, “It’s through the people’s struggle and people’s movement that we will resist Trump and the racist institutions that he will try to use and attack us. We need to start defensive committees in our neighborhoods.”

“We need to protect our immigrant community from ICE,” Magdaleno continued. He further commented on ICE activity in ESSJ, calling for a boycott against the Target store at the intersection of Story and King to “demand that they stop collaborating with ICE, letting them park in their parking lot.”

The Target location has been the focal point of recent marches in ESSJ as it has allowed ICE to conduct operations behind the store and in its parking lot.

Cesar Ruiz from Human Agenda spoke of the importance of the youth getting organized and how he was proud to see “high school students walkout for immigrants’ rights” in past weeks. He also recounted how he was involved in the 2006 May Day Mega Marches. Ruiz went on to emphasize the importance of May Day and the fight for immigrants and workers, saying, “We’re here for the long run, we’re here to struggle, we’re here to win.”

The 2006 May Day Mega Marches, also known as “A day without an immigrant,” were a response to a proposed bill in Congress, HR 4437. The bill, also known as the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, would have made any undocumented person and anyone who helped them a felon.

Veronica Ibanez from Papeles Para Todos spoke about why organizing for immigrant rights, and particularly for the undocumented, is so important, stating, “I have lived here for 25 years, and haven't been able to go back to my home country, my parents have passed away and I couldn’t be there.” Ibanez continued, “That is why I continue to fight for immigrant rights, because we have a right to visit our country of origin and return home.”

Protesters then marched from Mexican Heritage Plaza, a landmark in Eastside San Jose, to the corner of Story and King, a site known for being the starting point of the 2006 May Day Mega Marches. Throughout the march, protesters chanted, “Down down with deportation, up up with immigration” and “San Jose, escucha, estamos en la lucha!”

Once protesters reached the corner of Story and King, the march continued to the Target inside the plaza at the intersection. As protesters marched past they chanted, “Target, escucha, estamos en la lucha!”

After the chants against Target, protesters gathered on the corner of Story and King and continued rallying.

Magadeleno ended the action by telling folks there that it is important now more than ever to get organized and that we must build a united front against Trump!

#SanJoseCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #SVIC #L4A #PPT

The United States does have an overall low tariff rate, of 1.5%. This rate was calculated by the World Bank using the actual amount of trade. But the fact is, many countries have equal or lower tariffs than the United States, such as major trading partners such as the European Union (1.3%), and Canada (1.3%). Japan does have slightly higher tariffs (1.6%) and even China’s rate of 3.1%, while double the United States, is still an overall low rate.

So, what the Trump administration will try to do is label non-tariff policies like the VAT, or Value Added Tax, as tariffs. All of the major trading partners with the United States have a form of VATS, including Canada, China, the European Union, Japan and Mexico.

A Value Added Tax, or VAT, is a type of consumption tax somewhat like a sales tax. In the United States neither the state nor the federal government uses a VAT. Instead, states use sales taxes, where the U.S. businesses are exempt from sales taxes on their purchases, and the government is just paid once when the final sale is made to the consumer. Most countries use a VAT instead, where businesses pay a percentage based on their “value added” or difference between their business sales and cost of goods bought for production. But since imported goods don’t pay a VAT to the government, a VAT charge is added to them to level the playing field between domestic and foreign producers.

Another difference between a tariff and a VAT is who pays. With a tariff, the import business pays the tax to their own government. With VAT, the exporting business pays tax to the foreign government. However, it is true that in the end, most of this is passed on to the consumer.

If carried out, this would undermine the worldwide trade system, which is based on the “most favored nation” or MFN concept. MFN means that any agreement to lower tariffs with one country would be shared with all countries agreeing to MFN. This MFN was embodied in the principles of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade or GATT in 1947 and later the World Trade Organization or WTO in 1995. This process has lowered U.S. tariffs from a high of 20% in 1932 down to the current 1.5% rate.

Many will wonder why Trump is trying to tear apart the very system based around the GATT and the WTO that the U.S. designed. This is Trump’s reaction to the fact that U.S. trade power has declined from its 1950 peak. After World War II, all the other major capitalist economies were devastated, and China was the poorest big country in the world, after 100 years of foreign invasion and civil war. By 1990, the United States was still the main trading partner for the most countries, Europe was second, and China was a distant third, with only ten smaller countries as its main trade partner.

But the relative decline of the United States economically meant that by 2020 China had taken over as the main trading partner of most countries, with Europe, in particular Germany, coming in ahead of the third-place United States. Trump hopes that tearing up the world trading system, in which Europe and China are doing better, will give the United States an advantage. More likely Trump’s policies will end up strengthening the economic competitors of the United States, as more and more developing nations turn to China – and there is even talk of Canada joining the European Union!

Trump and other MAGA leaders try to paint the United States as the victim, implying that other countries are causing the U.S.’s large trade deficit. But in fact, U.S. corporations seeking to maximize their profits have outsourced many consumer goods such as clothing, shoes, cell phones, computers, consumer electronics, appliances and furniture to other countries. In other industries, the U.S. has or is falling behind. In automobiles, Japan took the car crown from the U.S. and now China has become the world’s largest exporter of cars. In commercial airlines, Boeing has stumbled and now European Airbus leads, and China is rolling out their first commercial passenger jet. Intel has lost its lead in producing computer chips to Taiwan SMC and Samsung in Korea. In the green energy industries, China has taken the lead in solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles.

If we look at China’s rise, first they laid the foundation with education, infrastructure and expanding opportunities for women. But the Trump administration is doing the exact opposite, aiming to dismantle the Department of Education, not even paying lip service to our crumbling infrastructure, and trying to restrict opportunities for women. In fact, the Trump administration will not “Make America Great (or Affordable) Again,” it is doing the exact opposite, further diminishing the United States and raising prices to boot.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Tariffs #Trump

San Jose, CA – On February 16, around 350 people gathered at San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin to commemorate the signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans in U.S. concentration camps during World War II.

EO 9066 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, and led to the forced relocation of Japanese-Americans to ten concentration camps throughout the western part of the United States. Two-thirds of those incarcerated were U.S. citizens. Additionally, dozens of Department of Justice camps held thousands more people, including over 2000 Japanese people who had been deported from Latin American countries, notably Peru, in order to be incarcerated in U.S. camps.

Nihonmachi Outreach Committee has been holding the San Jose Day of Remembrance annually since 1981. This year’s theme for the event was “Women Activists Leading Change.”

Guest speaker Diana Tsuchida told her family’s story of incarceration, recounting how her grandfather was separated from his wife and young son and transferred to the DoJ camp in Crystal City, Texas due to his protests against the concentration camps. She emphasized the renewed importance of speaking out about her family’s story given right-wing attempts to whitewash such history, saying, “There is a war being waged on history, a war being waged on the validity of experiences of marginalized people in this country – a movement to belittle or make excuses for past oppressions.”

Dr. Alice Yang, professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of California Santa Cruz, said, “Activism is not just limited to the women who lead organizations or plan demonstrations – we definitely need those women, and I’m glad that many women have taken leadership positions in community organizations. But I think we also need to remember all the women who work behind the scenes.”

Yang continued, “These are women who supported their families in the camps, who wrote letters and made calls to support redress, who organized the buses that transported people to events like the redress commission hearings, and created protest art, poetry and literature. They are activists because they tried to help others and they encouraged others to continue helping people who are facing discrimination and injustice.”

Keynote speaker Bekki Shibayama encouraged attendees to support the Neighbors Not Enemies Act proposed by Representative Ilhan Omar and Senator Mazie Hirono, which would repeal the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. “Trump’s racist rhetoric is vilifying immigrants as the enemy, while his discriminatory policies are inflicting tremendous fear in our marginalized communities,” Shibayama said.

“Trump’s threats to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 for the mass deportation of immigrants call to mind the last time this wartime authority was implemented,” Shibayama continued. “The Alien Enemies Act permits summarily detaining and deporting non-citizens based merely on their ancestry in times of declared war or in response to an invasion from a foreign government.”

Shibayama expressed Nihonmachi Outreach Committee’s continued commitment to defending immigrants in the face of Trump’s attacks, and announced that the organization has joined the local Neighbors Not Enemies coalition to support the passage of the bill.

“Scapegoating, mass roundups, indefinite detention, mass deportation, and family separation are alarming reminders of the civil and human rights violations perpetrated against our families during World War II,” Shibayama stated.

#SanJoseCA #InJusticeSystem #JapaneseAmericans #DayOfRememberance

While natural disasters such as the fires in southern California and the winter storms in the Midwest and Northeast were seen as pushing sales down 0.2%, the actual report was much worse. The so-called “Trump Bump” of optimism seen in the stock market and retail sales at the end of 2024 had completely fizzled out. One reason for this was that more and more households were stretched because of higher prices and have had to borrow more and more. Delinquencies, or late payments on loans, rose across all categories except for student loans, showing that more and more people had taken on too much debt to try to keep up with rising prices.

Higher inflation and falling sales in January do not foretell a good year for the economy. While Trump promised lower prices “on day one,” he is now blaming all the economic problems on President Biden. While this may have some truth since most of January was still under the Biden administration, going forward, the economic polices adopted in Washington DC will be Trump’s responsibility.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Retail #Inflation #Trump