OAKLAND, Calif. — More than 1,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters blocked cargo trucks at some of the West Coast’s busiest ports Monday, forcing terminals in Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Longview, Wash., to halt operations.
Although the protests attracted far fewer people than the 10,000 who turned out Nov. 2 to shut down Oakland’s port, organizers declared victory and promised more demonstrations to come.
“The truckers are still here, but there’s nobody here to unload their stuff,” protest organizer Boots Riley said. “We shut down the Port of Oakland for the daytime shift and we’re coming back in the evening. Mission accomplished.”
Organizers called for the “Shutdown Wall Street on the Waterfront” protests. They were hoping the day of demonstrations would cut into the profits of the corporations that run the docks and send a message that their movement was not over.
The closures’ economic impact wasn’t immediately clear.
The longshoremen’s union did not officially support the protests, but its membership cited a provision in its contract that allowed workers to ask to stay off the job if they felt the conditions were unsafe.
Some went home with several hours’ pay, while others left with nothing.
Oakland Longshoreman DeAndre Whitten was OK with it. “I hope they keep it up,” said Mr. Whitten, who lost about $500. “I have no problem with it. But my wife wasn’t happy about it.”
Others, such as the truck drivers who had to wait in long lines as protesters blocked gates, were angry. They said the demonstrators were harming the very people they were trying to help.
“This is joke. What are they protesting?” said Christian Vega, who sat in his truck carrying a load of recycled paper. He said the delay was costing him $600. “It only hurts me and the other drivers.”
From Long Beach, Calif., to as far away as Anchorage, Alaska, and Vancouver, British Columbia, protesters beat drums and carried signs as they marched outside the gates. There were a handful of arrests, but no major clashes with police.
The movement, which sprang up this fall against what it sees as corporate greed and economic inequality, is focusing on the ports as the “economic engines for the elite.” Protesters have moved their activities to ports weeks after police raids cleared out most of their tent camps.
The port protests are a “response to show them that it’s going to hurt their pocketbooks if they attack us brutally like that,” Mr. Riley said.
Protesters are most upset by two West Coast companies: port operator SSA Marine and grain exporter EGT. Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owns a major stake in SSA Marine and has been a frequent target of protesters.
They say they are standing up for workers against the port companies, which have had high-profile clashes with union workers lately. Longshoremen in Longview, for example, have had a long-standing dispute with EGT.
In a statement, EGT officials pointed out that the company employs workers from a different union to staff its terminal. The longshoremen’s union says the jobs rightfully belong to them.
“Disrupting port activities makes it harder for U.S. manufacturing, the farm community and countless others to sell to customers and contribute to our nation’s economic recovery,” EGT chief executive Larry Clarke said.
Shipping companies and the union agreed to send home about 150 workers, essentially halting operations at two terminals. Those in unaffected parts of the port remained on the job.
• AP writers Marcus Wohlsen, Christina Hoag, Nigel Duara, Manuel Valdes and Doug Esser contributed to this report.
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