California
As support grows to extend Los Angeles teacher strike, unions colluding with Democrats to end walkout
By Jerry White, 16 January 2019
With Oakland teachers planning sickouts to join the fight, the United Teachers Los Angeles is working behind the scenes with the Democratic mayor and governor to prepare a sellout of the strike.
Los Angeles teachers speak out on political issues in strike
By our reporters, 16 January 2019
“They keep saying, ‘There’s no money, there’s no money.’ That’s a lie.”
Oakland, California teachers plan a one-day walkout Friday
By Jonathan Burleigh, 16 January 2019
Teachers in Oakland, facing the same crisis as those striking in Los Angeles, have called a second wildcat “sickout” to oppose the attacks on public education.
PG&E’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing: Corporate executives again to get away with murder
By Jessica Goldstein, 16 January 2019
The company faces widespread litigation, including government investigation into the deadly Californian wildfires over the past two years, lawsuits from victims and over $30 billion in potential liabilities.
50,000 march on first day of Los Angeles teachers strike
By Jerry White, 15 January 2019
The first strike by LA teachers in three decades is shaping up to be a direct conflict with the Democratic Party, which is backing the campaign to privatize public education.
This walkout should be nationwide
Los Angeles teachers, students and parents speak out on first day of strike
By our reporters, 15 January 2019
Teachers and their supporters denounced the bipartisan attack on public education and supported the call by the WSWS Teacher Newsletter to expand the strike throughout California and the US.
025 Oakland rally interviews
15 January 2019
Widespread support for Los Angeles teacher strike as unions seek to block statewide struggle
By our reporters, 11 January 2019
Students, parents and workers expressed their support for Los Angeles teachers who are determined to walk out for improved wages and to oppose the drive to dismantle public education.
Los Angeles teachers prepare to strike
By Jerry White, 9 January 2019
Teachers in the nation’s second-largest school district are engaged in a critical battle to defend the right to public education.
Los Angeles and the billionaires’ plan to destroy public education
By Alan Gilman, 9 January 2019
Los Angeles teachers are in the front line of the battle against Wall Street interests seeking to privatize education.
On eve of strike, union drops LA teachers’ demands against school privatization
By Jerry White, 8 January 2019
The United Teachers Los Angeles has signaled that it is preparing to betray this critical battle over the privatization of public education.
“Almost everyone I know is working two jobs to make ends meet”
Los Angeles teachers prepare for strike
By Jerry White and Kim Saito, 7 January 2019
More than 33,000 teachers in the nation’s second largest school district are set to strike Thursday in a battle that pits educators against the Democratic Party establishment.
Austin Beutner—Wall Street’s Superintendent of Education in Los Angeles
By Alan Gilman, 7 January 2019
Beutner is renowned as a financier who has had a lucrative career extracting huge profits by privatizing public assets and slashing the wages and benefits of workers.
Los Angeles school officials hire strikebreakers as teachers prepare for walkout
By Dan Conway and Jerry White, 4 January 2019
Teachers in Los Angeles should reach out to educators in Oakland and across California to prepare a statewide walkout to defend the right to high quality public education.
3 January 2019
Central American asylum seekers forced to wait for months at US-Mexico border
By Norisa Diaz, 19 December 2018
WSWS reporters spoke with a number of Honduran immigrants in Tijuana who have fled poverty, extortion, and death threats from gangs in their home country.
Los Angeles teachers and supporters speak out at mass rally
“We don’t want the wars, we don’t want the prisons, we want that money to go to students who need it”
By our reporters, 18 December 2018
WSWS reporters were warmly received by teachers and their supporters at a mass rally in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday.
Mass demonstration by Los Angeles teachers
By Dan Conway, 17 December 2018
The demonstration, which involved up to 50,000 protesters, was the latest indication of the resumption of resistance by educators across the US who have been involved in the largest strike wave by teachers in decades.
Over 4,000 Kaiser Permanente mental health workers on limited strike in California
By Kevin Martinez and Kim Saito, 14 December 2018
The National Union of Healthcare Workers is ending the five-day strike tomorrow without resolving workers’ demands for higher wages, more staffing and the restoration of pensions for new-hires.
Los Angeles teachers and the fight for social equality
By the WSWS Teacher Newsletter, 14 December 2018
This statement will be distributed at a mass demonstration of teachers and their supporters in Los Angeles, California on Saturday.
“Our action is part of a broader fight for education”
Teachers in Oakland, California speak out at wildcat demonstrations
By Kayla Costa, 11 December 2018
Teachers in Oakland, California participated in wildcat “sickouts” and demonstrations on Monday to demand pay raises, smaller class sizes, and better school conditions.
Oakland, California teachers hold wildcat “sickout”
By Jonathan Burleigh, 10 December 2018
Teachers from over five schools carried out a coordinated “sick out” on Monday to protest low wages and millions of dollars in planned cuts to the district.
Oakland, California public schools face $60 million in cuts, state takeover
By Jonathan Burleigh, 4 December 2018
The Oakland Unified School District is proposing $60 million in cuts over two years and potentially closing a third of the district’s schools.
011 California fire interviews video
23 November 2018
The fire in Paradise, California: From natural disaster to social catastrophe
By David Brown, 21 November 2018
While wildfires, like hurricanes, are rooted in natural causes, the horrific consequences are the product of corporate malfeasance and government neglect.
Photo Essay: The social cost of the Camp Fire
By Toby Reese and Douglas Alan, 19 November 2018
World Socialist Web Site reporters visited a tent camp set up outside of a Walmart near Chico, California, as well as parts of Paradise, California, which was destroyed by the Camp Fire.
Death toll rises to 71, more than 1,000 missing from devastating California wildfires
By Evan Blake, 17 November 2018
Most of those listed as missing are elderly, with 91 percent over the age of 50, and therefore more likely to have perished given the rapidity of the wildfire’s spread and the lack of a citywide warning system.
World Socialist Web Site speaks with California wildfire evacuees
By our reporters, 16 November 2018
The death toll in Northern California’s Camp Fire jumped to 63 on Thursday with the number of missing increasing to 631.
Investigations point to energy corporation’s negligence in California wildfire
By E.P. Milligan, 15 November 2018
The PG&E utility company admitted Tuesday that it had submitted an “electric incident report” moments before the outbreak of the Camp Fire, the deadliest fire in California history.
As death toll rises to 48
Evacuees in California wildfire share their stories
By Evan Blake and Ben McGrath, 14 November 2018
There is a growing mood of anger among survivors over the indifference of the state and federal governments.
020 California fire update
13 November 2018
California wildfire deadliest and most destructive in state history
By David Brown, 12 November 2018
Social infrastructure, including fire departments, have been starved of funds for decades as trillions of dollars have been funneled into the bank accounts of the rich.
California wildfires kill nine, drive 150,000 from their homes
By David Brown, 10 November 2018
Driven by heavy winds, three major fires broke out Thursday across California, one of which destroyed the northern town of Paradise.
Ian David Long, the Thousand Oaks, California shooter, likely suffered from PTSD
By Rafael Azul, 10 November 2018
“We train a generation to be as violent as possible, then we expect them to come home and be OK ... we’re not responding to the needs they have.”
Gavin Newsom: A California governor groomed by the financial aristocracy
By Dan Conway, 23 October 2018
The Los Angeles Times recently published a report documenting the role of eight wealthy San Francisco families in bankrolling the political career of Democrat Gavin Newsom.
San Diego State University and the military-university complex
By Anthony del Olmo with the IYSSE at SDSU, 18 October 2018
Over the past several decades, universities in San Diego have developed into key assets for US militarism by becoming regional hubs for military training programs.
Los Angeles teachers union continues to delay strike action as negotiations proceed
By Dan Conway, 6 October 2018
The union for Los Angeles teachers is fighting to block strike action, despite teachers working without a contract and authorizing a strike.
Horrors at ICE prison in California: nooses found hanging in majority of cells
By Norisa Diaz, 4 October 2018
An unexpected visit from DHS inspectors found three quarters of the cells had nooses hanging from overhead pipes at a California immigrant detention center.
050 LA port truck drivers strike/TPS protest
4 October 2018
Los Angeles harbor drivers hold three-day strike
By Adam Mclean, 2 October 2018
Truck drivers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California began a three-day strike Monday over their misclassification as “independent contractors.”
A warning to students and the working class
Who are California Governor Jerry Brown’s appointments to the University of California Board of Regents?
By Evelyn Rios, 10 September 2018
Brown appointed his chief fiscal policy advisor, a top union bureaucrat, a former EPA official, and prior vice president of Lockheed Martin, the weapons manufacturer.
8 September 2018
Verizon throttled emergency data during California wildfires
By Henry Allan, 25 August 2018
While many workers have lost their homes and lives, the telecommunications giant has seen the disaster as an opportunity to make some extra profits.
Los Angeles teachers vote on strike authorization
By Dan Conway, 24 August 2018
After working without a contract for 13 months, Los Angeles teachers are taking a strike authorization vote.
Firefighter casualties mount from California wildfires
By Rafael Azul, 16 August 2018
The deadly fires which have claimed the lives of six firefighters, are part of a wave of wildfires affecting the entire western United States and British Columbia in Canada.
Heat wave and climate change drive California fires, now largest in state history
By David Brown, 10 August 2018
Last month was the hottest July on record for California going back 124 years, contributing to the drying out of vegetation and setting the stage for a record fire season.
Over 130 immigrant workers arrested in ICE raids in Minnesota and Nebraska
By Alec Andersen, 9 August 2018
Hundreds of immigration agents and police in military gear carried out Gestapo-style roundups at roughly a dozen agricultural job sites.
Berkeley police encourage harassment of anti-fascist protesters
By David Brown, 8 August 2018
The personal information of protesters arrested on Sunday was quickly released by police in a blatant attack on democratic rights.
California’s burning: The social and political background of the deadly infernos
By David Brown, 1 August 2018
For the second year in a row, the US state of California is the scene of death and destruction, as wildfires surge throughout the state and drive thousands from their homes.
Tesla assembles cars in a tent amid investigations of workplace safety
By Toby Reese, 31 July 2018
The company continues to show a net loss despite massive outside investments as it attempts to work out assembly line problems amid reports of serious workplace safety violations.
Seven killed, hundreds of homes destroyed as Carr wildfire spreads across Northern California
By Alec Andersen, 30 July 2018
Some 38,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate the area, many of whom have been forced to proceed to hastily-constructed relief centers run by charities.
California Democratic Party leadership snubs Feinstein in reelection bid
By Dan Conway, 18 July 2018
The California Democratic Party leadership endorsed Senator Dianne Feinstein’s opponent, State Senator Kevin de Leon, although Feinstein is still heavily favored in the November election.
State of California reeling from record high temperatures, early wildfire season
By Dan Conway, 9 July 2018
Record high temperatures in California last weekend caused energy demand to reach an all-time high, leaving many tens of thousands without power, and fires across the state.
Two hundred nurses at California hospital authorize strike
By Brian Dixon, 19 June 2018
The nurses have raised concerns over understaffing and the failure of the hospital to provide adequate “meal and break relief.”
Socialist Equality Party wins significant vote in California primary elections
By Jonathan Burleigh, 7 June 2018
David Moore, the SEP candidate for Senate, won 14,465 votes, or 0.4 percent, and Kevin Mitchell, the SEP candidate for House in the 51st district, received 900 votes, or 1.9 percent.
Vote for David Moore and Kevin Mitchell, Socialist Equality Party candidates, in the June 5 California midterm elections!
By David Moore and Kevin Mitchell, 4 June 2018
The Socialist Equality Party is running Moore for US Senate and Mitchell for US House in the 51st District to fight for a socialist program for workers and youth. Elections are on June 5.
Facebook blocks ads in midst of US primary elections
By David Moore—SEP candidate for Senate in California, 1 June 2018
As part of the campaign against “Russian influence,” Facebook implemented new advertising rules that heavily favor established candidates.
Support the National City teachers! Defend public education!
By Kevin Mitchell—SEP candidate for US Congress in California, 26 May 2018
Teachers in the San Diego community have joined a growing wave of teachers’ strikes taking place nationally.
University of California three-day strike ends without any resolution for workers
By Kayla Costa, 10 May 2018
The health and service workers now face the efforts of the union to isolate their struggle and push a sellout contract.
Sympathy strike expands University of California picket lines
By Evelyn Rios, 9 May 2018
Nurses and administrative professionals joined service and technical workers on strike across 10 California campuses as students also began to express their support.
“There’s an attack on all public workers”
Striking University of California workers speak out
By our reporters, 8 May 2018
On Monday, 24,000 service workers on University of California campuses, members of AFSCME Local 3299, hit the picket lines for the first day of a three-day strike.
53,000 workers begin three-day strike at California universities and hospitals
By Evelyn Rios, 7 May 2018
Workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike in April, rejecting the UC’s last offer of 3 percent yearly wage increases and a prorated, lump-sum payment of $750.
Unite the working class against police killings!
By David Moore: SEP candidate for US Senate from California, 19 April 2018
The killing of Diante Yarber in Barstow, California is the latest in an unending series of police killings in the state and throughout the country.
Oppose California Democratic Governor Jerry Brown’s national guard deployment!
Statement of Socialist Equality Party Senate and Congressional candidates
By David Moore and Kevin Mitchell, 12 April 2018
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown announced he was sending 400 guardsmen to support Trump’s anti-immigrant militarization of the border.
Northern California teacher placed on leave after encouraging discussion of school shooting protests
By Dan Conway, 3 April 2018
Rocklin High School history teacher Julianne Benzel was disciplined after encouraging discussion over last month’s school shooting protests.
Socialist Equality Party announces California candidates in midterm elections
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party
3 April 2018
David Moore, SEP candidate for the US Senate, and Kevin Mitchell, SEP candidate in the 51st Congressional District, will run on a socialist, anti-war and anti-capitalist program in the interests of the working class in California and around the world.
Homeless cleared from Anaheim, California encampment remain in limbo
By Adam Mclean, 31 March 2018
While the long-term future of the Anaheim homeless is still uncertain, the about-face by the county will strand them for the immediate term.
“This can be turned around by people who want to build a new society”
California: Protesters denounce war and social inequality
By our reporters, 27 March 2018
The large turnout in the most populous US state reflects a political shift, as a new generation of young people are being thrust into politics for the first time.
Black Lives Matter promotes illusions in African-American police chief after Sacramento police murder
By Alec Andersen, 26 March 2018
The response of Black Lives Matter activists to the killing of Stephon Clark further demonstrates the complete bankruptcy of the group’s racialist perspective.
Sacramento police shoot and kill unarmed man in his backyard
By Matthew Taylor, 23 March 2018
Clark’s murder exposes the futility of the various reforms promoted by Black Lives Matter and put in place in the aftermath of mass protests against police murders.
Homeless family of four found dead in van in Orange County, California
By Kimie Saito, 19 March 2018
The tragic incident further exposes the housing crisis in Orange County, California where police have recently been working to clear out hundreds of people from homeless encampments.
Farm worker parents of six children die in car crash while fleeing ICE agents
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 16 March 2018
The tragic deaths of Santo Hilario Garcia and Marcelina Garcia Profecto are the outcome of the Trump administration’s immigration policy in action.
Trump visits border wall prototypes in California to “pick the right one”
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 14 March 2018
Trump’s first visit to California as president sparked protests and came in the context of an intensification of the anti-immigrant policies of the administration.
California: 18,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses authorize strike
By Brian Dixon, 12 March 2018
The not-for-profit organization gained net income of $3.6 billion in 2017, but uses none of these fund to address the issues driving nurses to authorise a strike.
Four dead following hostage situation at Northern California veterans home
By Alec Andersen, 10 March 2018
The hostages were employees of the nonprofit organization Pathway House, which provides services to veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Impoverished California parents arrested, charged with raising children in substandard conditions
By Dan Conway, 6 March 2018
By all indications, the only crime committed by the two homeless parents was raising their children while extremely poor.
Los Angeles report on homelessness reveals widening funding gap
By Adam Mclean, 23 February 2018
Homelessness in LA is growing at a much higher rate than was previously thought, outstripping the already limited funding allocated to programs aimed at aiding the homeless.
ICE arrests 212 immigrants, raids 122 businesses in Los Angeles area
By Evan Blake, 19 February 2018
The raids across seven counties are meant to instill fear within immigrant communities and stifle opposition to the fascistic policies of the Trump administration.
As AFSCME drags out contract negotiations
Brutal police assault on UC Berkeley worker evokes anger
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan and Evelyn Rios, 16 February 2018
AFSCME has portrayed the attack on 51-year-old housing and dining services employee David Cole during a campus protest over stalled contract talks in exclusively racial terms.
One dead as fires strike homeless encampments in Oakland, California
By Guillaume Garnier and David Brown, 14 February 2018
A fire that burned down the tents of roughly 20 people in a semi-official encampment was followed by a blaze in a separate camp that killed one man.
Police step up harassment of Los Angeles homeless
By Adam Mclean, 7 February 2018
The harassment of the homeless is connected to efforts to gentrify downtown Los Angeles, which is near Skid Row, the largest concentration of homeless people in California.
ICE conducts 77 workplace raids in Northern California
By Evan Blake, 5 February 2018
The wide scale of the workplace raids could signal the start of an anticipated crackdown across the entire region, threatening over 1,500 with arrest and deportation.
San Diego mayor outlines impending crackdown on homeless
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 30 January 2018
Mayor Kevin Faulconer combined praise of the city’s meager response to the recent hepatitis A outbreak with a thinly veiled threat that homelessness would no longer be tolerated.
“This could be anyone tomorrow”
Anaheim, California: Homeless encampment residents speak on their conditions
By Adam Mclean, Kevin Martinez and Kimie Saito, 29 January 2018
Rather than offering assistance to those living on the riverbed, the city has started a “slow and methodical” drive to shut down the encampment.
Officials begin clearing out homeless encampment in Anaheim, California
By Kevin Martinez, 23 January 2018
The estimated 1,000 people living in tents along the Santa Ana riverbed will be cleared out by Orange County sheriffs. The vast majority have no place to go and authorities have no plans to house them.
Massive raids threatened against immigrants in California
By Bill Van Auken, 19 January 2018
Plans have been revealed to pour immigration agents from all over the country into Northern California cities to round up at least 1,500 undocumented immigrants.
Death toll in Southern California mudslides rises to 20
By Dan Conway, 16 January 2018
Rescuers have all but given up hope of finding anyone else alive in the coastal community of Montecito, transitioning from a “search and rescue phase” to a “search and recovery phase.”
Deadly mudslides in Southern California expose inadequate infrastructure
By Dan Conway, 13 January 2018
Four days after 3-foot-high mudslides raged through the California coastal community of Montecito, rescuers continue to search for survivors.
Death toll in Southern California mudslides rises to 17
By Dan Conway, 11 January 2018
Rescuers continued to search for survivors in the upscale community of Montecito, California Wednesday after rivers of mud and debris had raged through the area a day earlier.
At least 13 dead as rainfall in Southern California triggers mudslides and flooding
By Dan Conway, 10 January 2018
The deaths were primarily due to mudslides triggered by heavy rains in areas largely denuded by massive wildfires only a few weeks before.
San Diego homelessness crisis remains after hepatitis A outbreak
By Emanuele Saccarelli, 9 January 2018
Official reports indicate that more than 9,000 homeless people live on the streets of San Diego, with over a thousand of them being concentrated in the downtown area.
Southern California wildfires continue into third week
By Dan Conway, 21 December 2017
Firefighters in Southern California continue to battle the Thomas Fire, now the second largest in state history, northwest of Los Angeles more than 16 days after it began.
Build a committee to oppose Oakland school cuts! For a socialist program to expand public education!
By the Socialist Equality Party (US), 16 December 2017
Workers must reject the entire framework of austerity and fight for the broadest expansion of public education, through the independent political mobilization of the entire working class.
Oakland, California board of education approves mid-year budget cuts despite growing opposition
By Jonathan Burleigh, 16 December 2017
Roughly 500 people attended the latest board meeting to protest the budget cuts, expressing the deep support for public education within Oakland’s working class.
After ten days, largest of Southern California wildfires continues to rage
By Dan Conway, 15 December 2017
As the massive wildfires that engulf Southern California continue, a fire that consumed portions of Los Angeles’ wealthiest neighborhood is being blamed on the city’s homeless.
UN special rapporteur on poverty visits LA’s Skid Row
By Adam Mclean, 15 December 2017
Alston spent his time in the impoverished LA neighborhood notorious for homelessness, drug abuse and police brutality.
While Southern California burns, governor declares fire devastation to be “new normal”
By Brian Dixon and Dan Conway, 12 December 2017
Though some of the relatively smaller fires are now considered completely or nearly completely contained, larger fires in Ventura, San Diego and Riverside continue to burn.
Oakland, California school board set to enact mid-year budget cuts
By Jonathan Burleigh, 12 December 2017
The austerity measures will further undermine education in a school district that has already faced deep cuts.
Fires rage across Southern California for fifth day
By Dan Conway, 9 December 2017
As the fires continue, the Trump administration is pushing for cuts in fire prevention and Democratic Governor Brown is imposing pension cuts on firefighters.
Southern California wildfires continue to rage for third day
By Dan Conway, 8 December 2017
Wildfires continue in Southern California with high winds stoking at least five major blazes in the Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura County areas.
Follow the WSWS