California
Teacher protests surge in Southern California as schools reopen
By Kimie Saito and Marc Wells, 29 September 2020
In Orange County, California, educators in at least four school districts are taking part in courageous protests against returning to work under unsafe conditions in defiance of their own unions’ recommendations.
New wildfires cause mass evacuations in California’s Napa Valley
By Rafael Azul, 29 September 2020
There are currently 27 major wildfires in California. In some areas, evacuations are barely staying ahead of the spreading flames.
PG&E shuts off power to tens of thousands as West Coast wildfires continue to rage
By Kevin Martinez, 28 September 2020
The shutoff of power on Sunday came in advance of an expected heat wave which will heighten the danger of more fires.
Western US wildfires point to worsening trends of global warming
By Alexa Castro, 26 September 2020
Since the beginning of 2020, California has seen approximately 3.6 million acres burn—a testament to the growing climate crisis.
California wildfires expose the wealth divide
By Rafael Azul, 25 September 2020
While hundreds of homes burn to the ground and essential services are cut for the working class, California’s oligarchs save their homes and preserve their lifestyles with the aid of private firefighting services.
IYSSE at UC Berkeley condemns Philippine Stalinist “slanders and falsehoods” against Dr. Joseph Scalice
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at UC Berkeley, 25 September 2020
Communist Party of the Philippines founder Sison has accused Dr. Scalice of being a “CIA agent.” This pathetic lie is aimed at distracting workers and youth from Dr. Scalice’s exposure of the Stalinists’ support for president Rodrigo Duterte and other bourgeois politicians.
As Creek Fire become the largest in California history, farmworkers continue to labor without protection from smoke
By Aditya Veeraiah and Evan Winters, 24 September 2020
Even though plans were announced over a month ago to distribute hundreds of thousands of N95 masks to Fresno area farmworkers, few have received these masks, which provide a high level of protection against both air pollution and COVID-19.
San Diego County seeks to exclude university outbreaks to undercount coronavirus cases
By Melody Isley, 21 September 2020
As COVID-19 cases skyrocket, San Diego County supervisors are lobbying to artificially lower case numbers by excluding the recent outbreak at San Diego State University.
Dry weather continues to fuel historic wildfires in California, rains bring new dangers to Pacific Northwest
By Kevin Martinez, 21 September 2020
While fires continue to burn, destroying homes and displacing thousands, the Democrats and Republicans each seek to pass the blame onto each other.
Los Angeles educators form rank-and-file safety committee to oppose unsafe school reopening
By the Los Angeles Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 21 September 2020
The Los Angeles Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee has been established to protect the district’s students, teachers and staff from the deadly virus.
Los Angeles sheriff terrorizes residents and attacks critics following shooting of two deputies
By John Andrews, 21 September 2020
Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva continues to lay blame on demonstrators and critics for the shooting of two deputies one week ago by a still unidentified assailant.
Catastrophic wildfires, corporate air pollution, and COVID-19: A collision of crises
By Henry Hakamaki, 21 September 2020
The EPA loosened air pollution limits at the very time that coronavirus was becoming pandemic in the United States.
Wildfires threaten drinking water and further desertification of US West Coast
By Linda Rios, 19 September 2020
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 21 major fires are still burning in California, 12 in Oregon and 8 in Washington state.
Record wildfires continue to rage across US West Coast
By Peter Ross, 18 September 2020
The devastation caused by the 2020 fire season, like the COVID-19 pandemic, is a direct consequence of the criminal policies pursued by the American ruling class.
West Coast fires and evacuations expected to fuel the spread of COVID-19
By Kevin Martinez, 16 September 2020
Tens of thousands of people fleeing fires have been forced to live in makeshift shelters, making effective social distancing measures nearly impossible.
San Diego State University seeks to shift blame to students for coronavirus outbreaks following reopening
By Melody Isley and Norissa Santa Cruz, 16 September 2020
As the virus spreads on campus, students have watched in horror as peers are taken away to isolation dorms by staff dressed in hazmat gear.
Los Angeles Sheriff threatens violence, reporter arrested after shooting of deputies
By John Andrews, 15 September 2020
After the shooting of two deputy sheriffs by an unknown gunman in Compton, California, Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva threatened anti-police violence protesters and deputies roughed up and arrested a local reporter.
US farmworkers labor under unsafe conditions as West Coast fires continue to rage
By Rafael Azul, 15 September 2020
Nearly 500,000 field workers have been severely affected by the ongoing wildfires as they continue to labor in California’s Central Valley and in the wine region, picking lettuce, strawberries, citrus, grapes, and other crops.
Millions in the US choke on hazardous air as West Coast fires continue to rage
By Kayla Costa, 14 September 2020
With 33 dead and over 4.6 million acres burned, the unprecedented fires in California, Oregon and Washington have quickly spiraled into a catastrophe affecting the lives of millions.
The California wildfires, climate change and capitalism
By Bryan Dyne, 14 September 2020
The wildfires ripping through California and Oregon have exposed yet again the dangers posed by climate change and the inability of capitalist governments to deal with it.
Wildfires devastate US West Coast
By Linda Rios, 12 September 2020
As with the criminal mishandling of COVID-19, the mass devastation wrought by the wildfires exposes the complete inability of capitalism to address any social problem.
Ten percent of Oregon’s population ordered to evacuate as wildfires continue to ravage the US west coast
By David Fitzgerald, 11 September 2020
At least fourteen people have died in the latest outbreak: a one-year-old boy in Washington, three people in Oregon, and ten in California, and the death toll is expected to rise.
Oregon governor declares state of emergency calling wildfires a “once-in-a-generation event”
By Kevin Martinez, 10 September 2020
Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a wildfire emergency after two towns burnt to the ground and thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate.
Western US ravaged by catastrophic fires, record heat
By Rafael Azul, 9 September 2020
The record fires and deadly temperatures are an indictment of the failure of capitalism to resolve the ever-deepening environmental crisis caused by global warming.
Protests continue in Los Angeles after police kill unarmed 29-year-old man
By Dan Conway, 3 September 2020
On Monday, deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department stopped Dijon Kizzee over an alleged vehicle code violation while riding a bicycle leading to his murder after a brief foot chase.
California Governor Newsom continues murderous policies as COVID-19 cases in state reach 700,000
By Peter Ross, 31 August 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly spread through California, with over 6,000 new infections per day, including 1,500 in Los Angeles County alone.
False “glimmers of hope” as California continues to burn
By Linda Rios, 29 August 2020
Nearly two dozen major fire complexes are still burning, along with hundreds of smaller ones, including a new fire that started in the early hours of Friday.
Renewed heat and lightning increase fire danger in California
By Rafael Azul, 28 August 2020
State authorities are warning that fire conditions are still very dangerous and have warned evacuees not to return to their homes until allowed to do so.
Wildfires continue to rage across California amidst heat wave and pandemic
By Anthony del Olmo, 27 August 2020
Northern California residents have suffered more than a week of wildfires caused by lightning strikes and a historic heat wave in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Seven dead and 170,000 displaced as massive wildfires continue to burn in Northern California
By Peter Ross, 26 August 2020
As of Tuesday morning, 937 structures have been destroyed and 251 damaged, and the fires continue to threaten some 30,500 additional structures.
“I have nothing but a bunch of ashes”
Hundreds of thousands displaced, six dead as 600 fires rip across California
By Norissa Santa Cruz, 24 August 2020
The two largest fires, now the second and third largest in the state’s history, are forcing hundreds of thousands to flee from deadly situation to another.
California wildfires: A climate crisis embedded in the COVID-19 pandemic
By Rafael Azul, 20 August 2020
The heat wave and numerous wildfires were all predictable, so why wasn’t California prepared?
New York and Los Angeles plan deadly reopening of schools
By Renae Cassimeda, 18 August 2020
Democrats in the two largest school districts are pushing to reopen schools in a matter of weeks, endangering the lives of millions of residents in New York and Los Angeles.
Heat wave, rolling blackouts affect thousands across California
By Peter Ross, 17 August 2020
A major heat wave affecting much of the southwestern US caused rolling blackouts Friday and Saturday throughout California.
US Supreme Court defends deadly jail conditions in California
By Marc Wells, 10 August 2020
The high court decision denies inmates their right to safety during a deadly pandemic and at the same time shows contempt for the lives of the poor.
Violent, secretive fascistic networks operating inside California police stations
By Tom Carter, 7 August 2020
Alongside rampant brutality, a secretive police culture has emerged featuring tattoos, occult rituals and symbols, codes of silence, and barbecues to celebrate murder.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to hear Socialist Equality Party candidates’ appeal in California voting rights case until after ballots are printed
By Shuvu Batta, 6 August 2020
The decision effectively deprives Joseph Kishore and Norissa Santa Cruz of the right to have their appeal heard on the merits before the ballots are printed.
California’s Apple Fire burns 20,000 acres, forces thousands from their homes
By Peter Ross, 4 August 2020
The massive fire continued to spread Monday in California’s Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
California: 700 health care workers at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital on five-day strike
By Brian Dixon, 23 July 2020
Workers are protesting understaffing at the hospital, inadequate access to personal protective equipment, and management’s proposal to slash their benefits.
“They have put the needs of the 1 percent over the importance of human life”
NASSCO shipyard worker dies from COVID-19 in San Diego
By Linda Rios, 23 July 2020
Concerns about the lack of safety measures at the shipyard began to surface in late March, when a worker tested positive for COVID-19.
California judge rules that SEP candidates must collect physical signatures during pandemic or be excluded from ballot
By Kevin Reed, 22 July 2020
Federal District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee handed down a ruling on Tuesday against the lawsuit filed by the SEP, which argues that California’s ballot access laws are “effectively impossible” to satisfy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hundreds of workers infected and four dead from COVID-19 at Los Angeles sweatshop
By Marc Wells, 14 July 2020
The Los Angeles Apparel factory was shut down after months of reports and formal complaints filed by garment workers and advocacy groups.
Democratic California Governor Newsom argues that allowing SEP candidates on the ballot would cause “frustration of the democratic process”
By Isaac Finn, 14 July 2020
Joseph Kishore and Norissa Santa Cruz are suing California for enforcing a 200,000-signature requirement. Yesterday, the candidates appealed a Michigan judge’s ruling against them to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Riverside, California: HCA nurses strike continues as coronavirus takes its toll
By Alex Johnson, 4 July 2020
According to health officials, the confirmed active case count in Riverside bloated to 10,059 on Thursday, compared to 9,532 on Wednesday. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 stands at 465.
Riverside, California Nurses strike continues as ICU beds reach capacity
By Kevin Martinez, 2 July 2020
Nurses are protesting unsafe working conditions while county health officials announced this week that ICU beds were at 99 percent capacity
SEP presidential candidates Kishore and Santa Cruz file federal lawsuit challenging ballot access restrictions in California
By Norissa Santa Cruz—SEP Vice Presidential Candidate, 2 July 2020
The Socialist Equality Party’s candidates argued in court filings Tuesday that the state’s requirement that the candidates gather 200,000 voter signatures is impossible to meet during the pandemic and a violation of basic democratic rights.
Riverside Community Hospital nurses strike in California
By Kevin Martinez, 26 June 2020
Nurses in the SEIU have launched a 10-day strike to protest staffing cuts while their for-profit hospital chain has received government bailouts.
San Diego city council approves $27 million increase in police budget, pledges millions for an Office of Race and Equity
By Linda Rios, 26 June 2020
The San Diego City Council’s budget for FY 2020-21 includes a $27 million increase in the funding of the Police Department and $3 million devoted to the creation of an “Office of Race and Equity.”
California Democrats collaborate with state employees union to cut workers’ wages by 11 percent
By Alan Gilman, 25 June 2020
Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000 agreed to a two-year wage cut of over 11 percent for 96,000 custodians, administrators and nurses employed by the state government.
999 SEIU agrees to pay cuts for California state workers
24 June 2020
Thousands of educators laid off across California as state Democrats plan austerity budget
By Renae Cassimeda, 16 June 2020
Amid massive cuts to public education looming in the coming months, many of California’s K-12 public school districts facing prior budget shortfalls have already laid off educators for the coming school year.
Thousands protest over suspicious hanging deaths of two black men in southern California
By Rafael Azul, 15 June 2020
Protesters rallied in Palmdale, California on Saturday demanding answers in the death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old black worker found hanging from a tree outside City Hall.
999 California K-12 education budget cuts roundup
12 June 2020
Bakersfield, California protester dies after being run over by neo-Nazi
By Adam Mclean, 10 June 2020
The driver, Timothy Moore, was defended by police and subsequently released without charge after he rammed Robert Forbes.
Police kill unarmed 22-year-old man in Vallejo, California
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 6 June 2020
Sean Monterrosa was on his knees with his hands held up when police officers shot five bullets into him through the windshield of their unmarked cruiser.
California Governor Gavin Newsom ramps up reopening despite serious public health threats
By Norissa Santa Cruz and Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 29 May 2020
The Democratic governor is accelerating the re-opening of the state, allowing resumption of business for shopping malls, dine-in restaurants, and large gatherings, despite the enormous dangers of COVID-19.
Coronavirus pandemic spreads across the US South
Hospitals overwhelmed in California and Alabama as national death toll approaches 100,000
By Bryan Dyne, 23 May 2020
The spike in cases in such divergent areas of the country is another indication that, contrary to official policy, the spread of the coronavirus pandemic is not slowing but increasing.
Explosion at downtown Los Angeles warehouse injures 12 firefighters
By Peter Ross, 19 May 2020
The warehouse explosion spread the fire to adjacent buildings but was contained in about an hour by some 230 responders.
“How many people have to die for us to be treated like human beings?”
Tracy, California Amazon worker speaks out on coworker’s death
By Evan Blake, 30 April 2020
At least one worker at the warehouse has died from COVID-19 and many other have tested positive, as management moves to force workers to accept deadly working conditions or face getting fired and losing unemployment benefits.
The lessons of the University of California grad student strike
By Jonathan Burleigh and Norissa Santa Cruz, 30 April 2020
Lacking any viable political strategy, the leaders of the UC grad student strike capitulated to the United Auto Workers, the same union teaching assistants rebelled against.
999 UC grad students end strike
29 April 2020
270 Norissa speaking to UC strikers
28 April 2020
999 Norissa speaking to UC strikers
27 April 2020
Los Angeles mayor releases plan for massive budget cutting and city worker furloughs
By Dan Conway, 25 April 2020
The cuts announced by the Democratic mayor herald an onslaught of similar measures in other US cities and states.
Hundreds of laid-off San Diego, California teachers begin online teaching
By Evelyn Rios, 23 April 2020
While knowing they will not have a job next school year and facing unemployment in six weeks, hundreds of laid-off teachers in the Sweetwater district have gone back to work.
San Leandro, California police execute man suffering mental health crisis in front of dozens of people in packed Wal-Mart
By Jacob Crosse, 21 April 2020
The killing of 33-year-old Steven Taylor on Saturday sparked outrage after a 57-second graphic video was posted and shared widely on social media.
PG&E to plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for Camp Fire deaths
By Dan Conway, 26 March 2020
The guilty plea allows the utility to escape further costs and legal liabilities stemming from its refusal to modernize its antiquated electrical grid.
Berkeley grad students vote to join wildcat strike as UAW scrambles to shut down struggle
By Jonathan Burleigh and Tom Hall, 11 March 2020
UAW Unit Chair Gerard Ramm declared that the union would not defend students who violated the no-strike clause in the UAW contract.
Sweetwater teachers and students protest impending mass firing of teachers
Norissa Santa Cruz – Socialist Equality Party candidate for vice president of the United States, 11 March 2020
Teachers, students and parents in California’s Sweetwater school district demonstrated outside a school board meeting.
Norissa Santa Cruz addresses University of California, Irvine strikers
California graduate student wildcat strike enters fifth week
By Jonathan Burleigh, 9 March 2020
As the strike spreads to administrative and professional workers at University of California's Hastings campus, Norissa Santa Cruz called at an organizing meeting at the Irvine campus for a break with the unions and a political struggle against the Democratic Party in defense of public education.
New report finds Tesla withheld workplace injury data from government
By Jessica Goldstein, 7 March 2020
A key factor in the dizzying growth of Tesla’s profits is management’s blatant disregard for workers’ safety and health.
University of California graduate student strike: A struggle against the United Auto Workers and the Democratic Party
By Tom Hall, 7 March 2020
For two months, UC graduate students and teaching assistants have engaged in a wildcat strike, rebelling against the UAW to demand cost of living adjustments in one of the most expensive states in the US.
San Ysidro, California high school students walk out to oppose attacks on public education
Joseph Kishore – Socialist Equality Party candidate for US president, 7 March 2020
On Friday, March 6, hundreds of students at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, California walked out to oppose budget cuts and attacks on public education.
110 UCSC interviews
4 March 2020
Striking University of California graduate students defy firings, expand strike
By Jonathan Burleigh, 3 March 2020
Thousands of graduate students and supporters rallied across California to demand higher wages and rehiring of over 100 victimized strikers. Administration, backed by the United Auto Workers, remains intransigent despite growing international support.
Workers must defeat the strikebreaking by the Democrats!
Stop the firings of University of California grad students!
Statement of Socialist Equality Party (US) Vice Presidential candidate Norissa Santa Cruz, 29 February 2020
Janet Napolitano, the UC president and Obama’s former director of Homeland Security, has fired 54 striking grad students for daring to fight for living wages and affordable housing.
San Diego educators and students protest devastating layoffs, program closures
By Evelyn Rios, 28 February 2020
Hundreds of protesters opposed the layoffs the school district and union agreed to.
As support for wildcat strike spreads
Unions work to defeat UC-Santa Cruz grad student strike
By Jonathan Burleigh, 27 February 2020
The UAW declared in an open letter at Berkeley that it would not defend the UCSC strikers or any UC Berkeley students who took sympathy wildcat action.
UC-Santa Cruz grad students continue wildcat strikes
By Anthony del Olmo, 26 February 2020
Another “Doomsday” rally is scheduled for Thursday, the new deadline set by the administration for grad students to end their strike or be fired.
California governor to collaborate with Trump against the homeless
By Dan Conway, 26 February 2020
California, the largest state in the US, also has the largest number of homeless people.
Hundreds of San Diego teachers slated to receive layoff notices due to $30 million budget deficit
By Evelyn Rios, 24 February 2020
Sweetwater board of trustees will vote Monday to approve pink slips and closures of learning centers
Demonstrations throughout California in support of wildcat strike by UC-Santa Cruz graduate teaching assistants
By Anthony del Olmo, 22 February 2020
Friday’s demonstrations were dubbed the “Doomsday Strike” in reference to the 11:59pm deadline set for UCSC TAs to submit Fall semester grades or be fired.
UC Santa Cruz graduate students defy administration ultimatum, vote to continue strike
By our reporters, 22 February 2020
While grad students, facing threats of dismissal and deportation, voted overwhelmingly to continue their wildcat strike, the UAW is seeking to contain the strike and prevent an open struggle against the Democrats.
Support for UC Santa Cruz strike spreads to other campuses, faculty
By Jonathan Burleigh, 21 February 2020
The Faculty Senate passed a resolution in favor of striking students and demonstrations have spread to at least four other UC campuses.
999 CA gov plans to house homeless in state property
21 February 2020
UC Santa Cruz graduate students call for expansion of wildcat strike
By Jonathan Burleigh, 19 February 2020
Striking University of California, Santa Cruz graduate students are bravely defying administration’s threats and intimidation as support grows across the UC system among students and faculty, and across the country.
US: Wayfair, Tripadvisor and other tech companies announce layoffs
By Mike Ingram, 18 February 2020
The two companies headquartered in Massachusetts announced layoffs as investors demand profitability while at least eight Bay Area tech companies have alerted the state government of job losses totaling 1,100 positions.
Striking University of California-Santa Cruz grad students defy UAW, arrests and threats of termination
By Stewart Bernays and David Brown, 18 February 2020
UC president and former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano threatened to fire striking workers and demanded that they honor the contract imposed by the UAW.
Oakland, California: With guns drawn, police evict homeless mothers from house
By Adam Mclean, 17 January 2020
A SWAT team wielding semi-automatic AR-15s broke down the front door of the house with a battering ram and arrested the residents of the house along with two protesters.
San Diego teachers notified of looming pink slips and layoffs
By Evelyn Rios, 28 December 2019
Amidst the continued cuts by the Sweetwater Union High School District, teachers are beginning to speak out in defense of their jobs and the future of education.
020 San Diego housing crisis
27 December 2019
“It’s just getting harder and harder to live”
Homeless in San Diego, “America’s Finest City”
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan and Ryley Koffing, 27 December 2019
San Diego has the fourth-highest number of homeless residents in the United States.
21 December 2019
999 Kaiser Permanente strike
20 December 2019
With support from Governor Newsom, California utility PG&E finalizes settlement with fire victims
By Anthony del Olmo, 19 December 2019
The revised settlement retains the incredibly inadequate $13.5 billion payout, a pittance compared to the immense destruction wrought by the company’s criminally negligent practices.
UC Santa Cruz graduate students wildcat strike enters critical phase
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 18 December 2019
The students, whose demand is a “Cost of Living Adjustment” to their wages as Graduate Teaching Assistants, are withholding submitting the final grades for Fall quarter.
California: Kaiser Permanente health care workers speak from the picket line
By our reporters, 18 December 2019
Kaiser Permanente workers spoke to WSWS reporters about the horrific conditions in its mental health care system.
California governor rejects PG&E’s bankruptcy settlement, demands token reforms
By Anthony del Olmo, 16 December 2019
If PG&E accedes to Newsom’s demands, the company’s board will simply be changed from Wall Street vultures to financial parasites from California.
Holiday shipping season begins with deaths of two UPS workers at California airport
By Steve Filips, 12 December 2019
As the holiday shipping season began, two young UPS workers were killed late last month when the cargo tugging vehicle they were riding overturned at the Ontario International Airport in California.
PG&E reaches minimal $13.5 billion settlement with victims of Californian fires
By Evan Blake, 11 December 2019
If approved, the deal will do nothing to make victims and their families whole, and will position PG&E to qualify for a $21 billion state wildfire fund to bail them out of future liabilities.
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