On June 8, at Chai House in San Jose—a mostly Jewish senior housing complex—Jewish and Japanese American survivors of the camps of World War Two and their families met for the second time in three years to tell their stories and reach common understanding. Around two hundred at the event, called "A Gathering of Friends," snacked on bagels and sushi and then talked with each other for a couple of hours. The South Bay Holocaust Survivor Group and the Japanese American Museum of San Jose were sponsors of the meeting, and the group was about evenly mixed between the two communities represented. Said organizer Harvey Gotliffe of San Jose State University, “We are here to share, not compare.” View photos

On May 15th, after months of negotiations, contract talks for more than 6,000 janitors collapsed, as the Bay Area’s largest cleaning companies have been refusing modest pay and benefit improvements to janitors who currently earn $347 a week ($23,000 a year). Silicon Valley now leads the nation in average median income, but the janitors’ wages fall far below their counterparts in other U.S. cities (New York janitors earn $20.25; San Francisco janitors earn $17.05; Chicago janitors earn $14.20; Silicon Valley janitors earn $11.04).

On May 17th, Bay Area janitors voted to strike against the cleaning contractors that work with companies such as HewlettPackard, Cisco Systems, Oracle, Yahoo, Applied Materials, and Intel. On May 21st, over four hundred janitors walked out of a dozen locations in the South Bay. On the second day of the strike, many more janitors walked off their jobs including workers at Standford University . Teamsters have indicated that will not cross picket lines established by striking SEIU janitors. The action could mean that UPS drivers will not be able to deliver packages, city garbage could go uncollected, and construction could be interrupted.

On May 21st, striking janitors staged a morning protest at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting for Intel corporation in Mountain View. SEIU members gave out leaflets to those who invest in Intel. Several janitors and their supporters went into the meetings, where they demanded better pay and benefits from one of the Bay Area's high tech giants. Photos

Janitors in Alameda County Are Granted Sanction to Strike | Day 2: Strike Spreads in Silicon Valley, Bay Area | Day 1: Silicon Valley Janitors Walking Off the Job Today | More Than 300 Labor Unions Across Bay Area Announce Strike Support, Vow to Honor Janitor Picket Lines | Bay Area Janitors Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize Strike | SEIU United Service Workers West

Two years after six local activists were arrested on Cinco de Mayo at Story and King Roads on the Eastside of San Jose, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office dropped all charges against the last of the defendants, Brian Helmle. The charges stem from Mr. Helmle’s arrest, along with five others, for their participation in a speakout against police brutality and copwatch on May 5, 2006.

“After two years of fighting these charges to defend the legal right of the people in this country to observe and record police behavior, the racism that we were trying to confront on Cinco de Mayo was borne out by the way the legal system treated us. Of the six of us, I was one of two white people and I was the only one who could afford a private attorney through help from my family, and I think that those are the only reasons why my charges were dropped” said Mr. Helmle. Read More

see also: San Jose Copwatcher has charges dismissed, community members speak out | The Other USA - San Jose

In San José and all across the United States, marches for immigrant and workers' rights are reviving the long-dormant American tradition of May Day. While legislation for comprehensive immigration reform has stalled in Congress, demonstrators are poised to take the struggle to the next level.

For the third year in a row, immigrant workers and their families went into the streets to march on May Day. From coast to coast, over a hundred thousand marched on May 1, 2008 to demand respect and recognition as workers who contribute so much to building the United States. The largest demonstration was reportedly in Chicago where some 15,000 people participated.

Their numbers were much smaller than two years ago on May 1, 2006 when millions marched against the threat of being criminalized by the Sensenbrenner Bill (H.R. 4437). That unprecedented outpouring of protest ensured that the bill would die in the Senate, but it also unleashed a wave of immigration raids by the Bush administration that has kept millions of undocumented immigrants and their children living in fear of forceful separation and deportation. Read More and View Photos

A community march and rally took place in San Jose on March 8th to ask for mercy for Joshua Herrera, who faces 25 years-to-life for a first-time offense. Report and Photos His family believes that such a sentence would be far too harsh for the driver of a car whose other occupants confronted a man who was physically abusing the other of one of the defendants in this case. Joshua stayed in the car and was not part of the confrontation, while the intended victim escaped unharmed. Protesters gathered outside of the Hall of Justice at 10:30 on Saturday morning.

Joshua's family writes, "We are pleading to the court for mercy, and asking the community's support to achieve and appropriate sentence for Joshua. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 20th." Joshua, who is 24 years old, was two weeks away from completing his first semester in the fire fighter academy at the time of his arrest. Prior to this incident, he had not one field identification card in the records of the SJPD to label him a gang member, no history of violence, nor a criminal record. Joshua's mother has reported that the DA's Office refers to him as a hardened gang member and even a gang leader. Because of the nature of the charges, he will likely be sent to a level 4 prison where the "worst" of the offenders are sent. She said, "There is no doubt that Joshua must pay for his absolute lack of judgment, but a life sentence in a level 4 prison is far too harsh for a young man with promise, far too harsh for young man with no criminal record, far too harsh for a young man who has no history of criminal violence. I ask that the courts have mercy on my son and that a sentence be imposed that is just, fair and moral and that the public see the atrocity that is occurring in this situation."

On February 7th, more than 100 UNITE HERE Local 19 service sector employees and community activists protested across the street from Google Inc. headquarters in Mountain View to support workers' rights. The rally was held adjacent to the site of Google's future four-star hotel and conference center. Despite repeated requests, Google has refused to address concerns about whether future hotel workers will be able to freely choose to join a union.

Speakers at the rally included hotel workers concerned about the impact of a non-union hotel on service workers in the area. Community members voiced concerns that public land receiving public resources should reflect community values, such as the right to a living wage, as Google enters the final stage of negotiations with the City of Mountain View. Read More and Watch a Video | Photos: 1 | 2

On January 1, 2008, activists slated, sang, and demonstrated at the downtown San Jose Ice Rink where Jeppesen Dataplan displays a corporate banner. The company handles the logistics for the CIA’s torture flights and continues to be a sponsor of the city's ice rink, despite the fact that the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors recently went on record as supporting the Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act and mentioning Jeppesen by name as implicated in the outsourcing of torture.

Photos | Torture is Sin: My Speech in Front of Jeppesen | Protests Continue at San Jose Company Linked to "Torture Taxi" Flights

In December 2007, the ACLU filed legal papers opposing the CIA’s attempt to throw out a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. for its participation in the CIA’s "extraordinary rendition" program. The ACLU charged that the U.S. government is improperly invoking the "state secrets" privilege to avoid judicial scrutiny of this unlawful policy.

Previous Indybay Coverage of Jeppesen Protests

Hundreds of workers, clergy, and community members took part in a rally Thursday, October 4, in San Jose. The rally, which was held in front of Adobe Systems, was organized by UNITE HERE! and SEIU and called on Silicon Valley technology companies to take responsibility for the conditions faced by cafeteria workers, janitors, and security workers on their corporate campuses.

These workers service the corporate campuses of many of the most successful high-tech and biotech companies in the area, including Applied Materials, Genentech, Electronic Arts, Sun, Adobe, and Broadcom. Technology companies are renowned for being great places to work, but many of these companies' service workers actually work for big contractors like Aramark and Guckenheimer.

Rally organizers called on Silicon Valley companies to adopt a code of conduct to hold contractors accountable and to raise standards for workers and the community. Photos | Service Workers Rising

Taser survivors, civil and human rights advocates, and cultural performers came together on Tuesday, September 11th to kick off a campaign to ban tasers in San Jose. People gathered that day at 5:00pm outside of the District Attorney's Office at 70 West Hedding St. From there, participants marched to the San Jose Police Department. A final rally was held at City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St., at 6:30 pm. Photos | PDF

Since 2004, when San Jose equipped all of its police officers with tasers, 5 people have died as a result of police use of tasers in that city. In the US, at least 268 pepole have died since 2001 after they were tased. Steve Salinas was tased to death by SJPD on May 25th, 2007. The Custodio family was tased and beaten on February 5th, 2007. Student Stephen Johnson was tased and beaten on March 10th, 2006.

Silicon Valley DeBug | Related: Taser Trouble in Palo Alto

The San Jose City Council will hold a public hearing on Monday, August 13th, at the San Jose City Council Chambers, to discuss the future of Coyote Valley. Coyote Valley is one of the last remaining open spaces of its size in Santa Clara County, and is reportedly home to many endangered animals and plants. Developers are planning to build housing for 80,000 residents in Coyote Valley, and these plans raise many concerns for the San Jose community. People who are opposed to the development plans will gather on Monday, August 13th at 5pm in front of City Hall, which is located at 200 East Santa Clara Street, and then they will voice their concerns at 5:30pm at the Coyote Valley Task Force meeting in rooms W118-120. PDF and Announcement

The Coyote Valley is a rural area that separates the two Silicon Valley cities of San Jose and Morgan Hill. Much of the valley lies within the city limits of San Jose. The land in Coyote Valley is largely rural, with a variety of agricultural and open space uses. The valley is surrounded by the Diablo Mountain Range on the east, and the foothills of the Coastal Range on the west. Coyote Creek runs along the east side of the valley, and oak grassland dominates the landscape.

San Jose's "Coyote Valley Specific Plan" | Save Coyote Valley website | SCV History | SCV Links | Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society's Position Paper | Greenbelt Alliance's Southbay Page

Young and old gathered in solidarity to support immigrant rights in Campbell, California, a city bordering San Jose, on July 14. The Raging Grannies have put out a call for people to join them at the corner of Bascom and Hamilton in Campbell on the second Saturday of each month from noon to 2pm for a rally to challenge the presence of Minutemen. Read More and View Photos

see also: Wall Street Journal on Minutemen Expansion (Raging Grannies Comment)

previous coverage: Golden Gate Minutemen Confronted in Campbell

On Monday, July 23rd, Cindy Sheehan's deadline for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to introduce articles of impeachment against George Bush and Dick Cheney ran out, as her caravan reached Arlington Cemetery. Hundreds of supporters gathered there and marched on Capitol Hill, ending in a siege of Rep. John Conyers' office and the arrests of Cindy Sheehan and Ray McGovern, among others.

Sheehan Brigade Marches From Arlington Cemetery, Besieges Rep. Conyers' Office | Conyers Calls Cops On Sheehan, Arrests 48 | Swanson: The Conyers Legacy | July 13th Message from Cindy Sheehan | DC Sit In for Impeachment at John Conyers office

In solidarity with the arrests in Washington DC, several folks gathered in Campbell, CA in the office of Mike Honda. They spoke with Mari Maben, Honda's District Chief of Staff, and asked her to convey their demand that Bush/Cheney be impeached to Honda. Photos
A similar action happened later in the day at the office of Zoe Lofgren on North First St. in San Jose, CA.

Letter from Feinstein on Impeachment | Mainstream Media Silent While Calls for Impeachment Grow

Faced with imminent layoffs and management's attempts to eliminate unions, workers from the Northern California Media Workers Union held a picket and press conference in front of the offices of the San Jose Mercury News on Tuesday, June 26th.

Gloria La Riva, Typographical Sector president of the Media Workers Union Local 39521, which represents some of the affected workers, said the layoffs "would create extreme hardship for employees of the Mercury News."

The company has announced that it will lay off all composing room workers on July 1, the day after their contract expires. In all, nearly 30 employees in the advertising and production departments will be affected.

Editorial workers, who are members of the San Jose Newspaper Guild, are also facing layoffs of up to a quarter of their workforce by merging departments among newspapers owned by the parent company, MediaNews Group. When their current two-year contract was signed, editorial workers were told that there would be no more layoffs. Now, according to La Riva, MediaNews Group refuses to negotiate with the Newspaper Guild.

When workers started their pickets in protest, the company threatened to eliminate their severance pay unless they gave up their protests. According to La Riva, many who had worked for the San Jose Mercury News for twenty years or more were contractually entitled to up to 12 weeks of severance pay. "Now that is threatened," she said.

Photos | List of Santa Cruz Sentinel Layoffs | MediaWorkers.org