June 13, 2026

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) issued the following news release on June 2, 2026.

Bay Area, California

About 700 antiwar, labor and community organizers from across the country gathered from May 30 to June 1 for an Anti-Imperialist Political Conference, Peace Forum and mass protest in response to the Trump administration’s attacks on working people around the world, aided by increasingly powerful tech and weapons companies, many of them based in the Bay Area. The protest targeted OpenAI and Scale AI headquarters in downtown San Francisco and included testimonies from communities directly impacted by U.S. high-tech warfare, environmental destruction by data centers and [artificial intelligence] AI-powered ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] surveillance.

“What we need is fewer military strikes and more working people’s strikes,” said Mike Casey, President of the San Francisco Labor Council. The Pentagon has used AI to generate targets more quickly and escalate warfare, as seen in the U.S. war on Iran. Meanwhile, outsourced Scale AI workers in the Global South, such as the Philippines, routinely face non-payment or underpayment for their work.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman supports Trump in AI deregulation, allowing for unlimited AI growth, leading to massive layoffs, seen from over 100,000 tech workers who lost their jobs in 2025.

“Both Northern and Southern California are breeding grounds for AI tech companies manufacturing war. Scale AI and OpenAI are complicit in Trump’s war crimes. We will not be silent. We say no to tech for fascism, war, plunder and exploitation!” said Ren of ILPS-Southern California.

Scale AI profits from war in Philippines

Scale AI has a partnership with military technology company Anduril Industries to develop AI systems for the U.S. Department of War. Anduril’s Ghost X drone was tested in the Philippines during the Balikatan military exercises. This drone is used to target, relay data and enable rapid suppression fire.

“Weapons like Ghost X are being used by the U.S.-backed Philippine military to target civilians. AI warfare means death, death that our community here in the Bay Area knows personally,” said Andan Bonifacio of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-USA (BAYAN USA).

On April 19, Lyle Prijoles, a Hayward, California, resident, was murdered by the U.S.-backed Philippine military along with 18 others in Negros Island, Philippines. Prijoles was a longtime human rights advocate and beloved community organizer in the Bay Area. “But no matter how technologically advanced, how sophisticated, or how well funded this imperialist machine is, they mean nothing in the face of the people’s movement,” concluded Andan.

Organizations also noted the use of AI for surveilling communities, such as the Flock camera system, from which ICE collects data, often misidentifying license plates leading to wrongful detentions and state violence. “They use AI to spy on our people, to surveil us. Why do they not use AI to capture criminals? The people who are evading taxes and creating imperialist war. They don’t use it against criminals, because they are the criminals!” Antonio Arizaga of Frente Unido Inmigrantes Ecuatorianos (FUIE) said.

‘Advance the Peoples’ Struggle’

Preceding the protest, the ILPS convened over 500 people at a Political Conference and Peace Form under the banner of “Advance the Peoples’ Struggle,” to discuss solutions to U.S. policies that increase ICE raids, cut social services and intensify militarization across the Global South. The discussions and sharings across the participating organizations led to a commitment to building stronger solidarity among workers and all oppressed people, from the U.S. to the Global South, and uplifting the needs of the people over the needs of big corporations and profit through shared campaigns to fight for genuine change in our communities.

The rally and march on Monday [June 1] reflected the common unity of communities and movements following the weekend conference and was the first action of a newly launched campaign against AI technology corporations.

During the weekend’s Peace Forum, hosted as part of a national series, speakers spoke to the urgency of defending Native land against militarization. “The Rim of the Pacific Military Exercises (RIMPAC) are not war games, they are WAR. They are a war on our land, our waters, our people around the world, bringing tons of carbon emissions to Hawaii,” said Laulani Teale of the Hoՙopae Pono Peace Project.

Laith Adel, organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, highlighted the successes of the Oakland Peoples’ Arms Embargo campaign: “Netanyahu ordered the IDF [Israel Occupation Forces] to seize even more land in Gaza. So when we discover the fighter jets are being sent through our airports, our public infrastructure, are used to carry out genocide? We call SHAME! What we demand now is a total, complete arms embargo on zionism, imperialism and all forms of occupation across the world. We cannot just call for a ceasefire.”

“The time is ripe for change; the conditions are worsening, but the conditions are also excellent for advancing our struggles. For those of us here in the U.S., building the militant anti-imperialist mass movement in the imperial core in solidarity with the struggles of the Global South is one of the key tasks that many of us in the room have already taken up. We are committed to growing the anti-imperialist mass movement, and our future is bright only if we are decisive to change it and only if we are decisive to fight for it,” said Liz Park, newly elected Secretary General of ILPS-US.

The International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS) is a global, anti-imperialist alliance founded in 2001, celebrating 25 years of organizing across sectors and countries. The ILPS-US chapter organizes campaigns such as Defend Peoples’ Struggle (DPS) and People Over Profit (POP) which focus on issues such as public safety, foreign policy and economic inequality. For more info, visit ilps.us. Follow @ilps.us on Instagram and International League of Peoples’ Struggles – ILPS US on Facebook.

To access the conference press kit: tinyurl.com/bddb59nh