Above photo: Rally in front of OpenAI.
National Coalition Stages Protest at OpenAI and Scale AI Headquarters.
Mobilizes for Anti-Imperialism Political Conference and Peace Forum.
Bay Area, CA — 700 anti-war, labor, and community organizers from across the country gathered from May 30th to June 1st 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 ScaleAI headquarters in downtown San Francisco and included testimonies from communities directly impacted by US high-tech warfare, environmental destruction by data centers, and AI-powered ICE surveillance.
“What we need is 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 US 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 de-regulation, 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 Open AI 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 International League of People’s Struggles-Southern California (ILPS-Southern California).
Scale AI has a partnership with military technology company Anduril to develop AI systems for 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 US-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, 2026, Lyle Prijoles, a Hayward CA resident, was murdered by the US-backed Philippine military along with 18 others in Negros Island, Philippines. Prijoles was a long time human rights advocate and beloved community organizer in the Bay area. “But no matter how technologically advanced, how sophisticated, how well funded this imperialist machine is, they mean nothing in the face of the people 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!” said Antonio Arizaga of Frente Unido Inmigrantes Ecuatorianos (FUIE).
Preceding the protest, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) convened over 500 people at a Political Conference and Peace Form under the banner of “Advance the Peoples’ Struggle” to discuss solutions to US 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 US 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 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, Hoopoe 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 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 US, 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 http://ilps.us. Follow @ilps.us on Instagram and International League of Peoples’ Struggles – ILPS US on Facebook.
