Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The OWS shut-down of West Coast ports didn't go as planned. Only a few hundred at best showed up in Long Beach, CA and many ports reported that their operations, while disrupted momentarily, were not shut-down so much that it would hurt them . This could be because the OWS, ironically, had no union support for the attempted shut down, and some port workers were even upset with them!! :
That union, which represents 15,000 dock workers, has distanced itself from the protest effort.
In a letter to members sent last month, union president Robert McEllrath said the organization shares Occupy protesters concerns about what they consider corporate abuses, but he said the union was not sanctioning any shutdown.
Some port workers are also against the planned blockade.
"I'm just barely getting on my feet again after two years, and now I gotta go a day without pay while somebody else has something to say that I'm not really sure is relevant to the cause," trucker Chuck Baca told CNN affiliate KGO.
Port officials say shutting down their facilities will only cost workers and their communities wages and tax revenue.
"Protesters wanted to send a message to the 1% but they are impacting the 99%," said Portland port spokesman Josh Thomas. The stoppage is resulting in "lost shifts, lost wages and delays," he said.
"Support is one thing; organization from outside groups attempting to co-opt our struggle in order to advance a broader agenda is quite another," said ILWU president Robert McEllrath.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said, "The port has asked us to keep it open. We're going to try to do our best to keep it open. As the mayor of the city, I'd ask people, 'Why are you doing this?'"
"A lot of the union leaders at the port and the commissioners are asking the community to really think if this will help the 99 percent," Quan said. "The port could potentially lose business."
Those Long Shore-men clerks get paid nearly 200k for their four hours of work a day, so they aren't going to let the OWS bust their ballistics.
OWS is lucky if they don't find horse's heads in their beds in the morning.
Thank you for confirming my point. From the link you provided:
Quote:
Others, such as the truck drivers who had to wait in long lines as protesters blocked gates, were angry, saying 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.
"We have jobs and families to support and feed," he said. "Most of them don't."
In Southern California, as many as 400 demonstrators marched on the Port of Long Beach, to a dock facility owned by SSA Marine. Beating drums and waving flags, dozens of protesters, gathered outside a fenced area at the port, part of a sprawling complex that spans parts of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
A couple of occupiers were arrested in a car, one had a loaded Glock with 2 spare magazines, another had a parole violation. A Samurai sword was also found in the car.
As per Police this was an advance recon team for the occupiers...
In another incident there was an accident involving a stolen truck occupied by occupiers...
A couple of occupiers were arrested in a car, one had a loaded Glock with 2 spare magazines, another had a parole violation. A Samurai sword was also found in the car.
As per Police this was an advance recon team for the occupiers...
In another incident there was an accident involving a stolen truck occupied by occupiers...
What a bunch of scumbags...
I was disappointed that there were no Occupiers near the part of the port of LA I work at, so would have loved to see the looks on their faces if they tried to get in my way of getting to work!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.