OAKLAND -- Despite calls to desist from Oakland politicians and union officials, Occupy protesters succeeded Monday night in shutting down operations at the Port of Oakland for the second time in less than two months.
The companies that operate the 26 berths at the nation's fifth-busiest container port told longshore workers not to report for the 7 p.m. evening shift - effectively halting work for the next eight hours and preventing 100 to 200 employees from earning the pay they would have received on a typical shift.
The decision was made even before protesters began marching toward from downtown and West Oakland BART toward the port. It turned the planned demonstration into a celebration: About 3,000 marchers gathered in the dark, dancing to music while some clambered atop trucks that were lined up with nowhere to go.
"We are ecstatic with the results," said Milo Avery, 22, of Oakland. "This day is the culmination of a lot of hard work. It's a historic and momentous step in this movement."
Some protesters pledged to remain at the port to block workers from arriving for 3 a.m. shifts today, saying further disruption would be a sign of support for demonstrators in other port cities who sparred with police Monday. But by 9:30 p.m., the crowd had dwindled to about 150 people.
The demonstration was by far the largest in a day of coordinated protests targeting 11 West Coast ports.
Quan's angry words
Frustrated Oakland officials, meanwhile, said the actions harmed local residents rather than corporate tycoons.
"They're saying, 'Oh, we want to get the attention of the ruling class.' Well, I think the ruling class is probably laughing," Mayor Jean Quan said at an 8 p.m. news conference.
Visibly angry, Quan stressed that the blockade was not supported by any union doing business on the waterfront.
"Still, a small group of people are going to hold hostage this port, this city, this economy," Quan said.
The evening gathering followed confrontations earlier in the day in which a smaller group of protesters was able to block intersections leading into the port. The action was spearheaded by Occupy Oakland, which was also successful in closing down port operations during a general strike the evening of Nov. 2.
Since then, Occupy camps in cities across the country have been cleared out by local police. And although activists portrayed Monday's action as a reaction to labor disputes involving longshore workers and truckers at the ports of Los Angeles and Longview, Wash., the title they chose - "Occupy Strikes Back" - made it clear they hoped to make a larger point about the movement's vitality.
The link could also be seen in the presence Monday evening of Scott Olsen, the 24-year-old Iraq war veteran who suffered a serious head injury Oct. 25 in a protest that followed a police raid of the Occupy Oakland encampment outside City Hall. The camp, like others across the country, was intended to symbolize economic inequalities.
Olsen said he was at the port protest "to help keep spreading the truth and standing up for what's right." He said he was not sure if he would stand at the front of the crowd again if riot police made a skirmish line.
"Maybe I'd wear a helmet if I did," said Olsen, who still wears a neck brace. "I have to look after my health now."
Two people were arrested during morning protests for impeding traffic after ignoring orders to clear a gate, said interim Police Chief Howard Jordan. No officers used force, and there were no reports of violence, he said.
The evening rally was just as peaceful. As demonstrators arrived at the West Oakland BART Station, a small marching band that billed itself as the Musicians Action Group played such songs as "We Shall Overcome." There was little visible police presence and little tension in the air.
The buoyant attitude of the Occupy protesters did not extend to many of the truckers who saw their incomes suffer as a result of the shutdown.
One was Lee Ronaldson, 63, whose 18-wheeler filled with refrigerated meat was one of a dozen trucks stuck on Seventh Street.
"These are children out here, what do they know?" he fumed while young protesters displayed an Occupy banner on his truck. "I don't even know what their movement is. All I know is, I'm losing a day's wage."
Nearby was Tom Roach, 57, a union carpenter from Rodeo.
"I feel for him, but he doesn't understand the big picture," Roach said. "In the long run, they'll make up for it when they get a better wage."
Similar debates played out later in the night as a dozen trucks sat idle, their drivers biding time.
"What happened today is that they at the port didn't lose any loads. They didn't lose any money," said Ron Coleman, 52, a trucker from Reno waiting to pick up an empty container and head east. "The only people who lost money was us."
Outside his window was Sebastian Fletcher-Taylor, 20, a student at Berkeley City College.
"This isn't the target I would have chosen," Fletcher-Taylor told Coleman. "I came for the symbolic value of solidarity."
Mayor ignored -
The day's events stymied not only truckers but also Quan, - who had made several appeals to keep the port open in the days leading up to Monday's actions.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and other labor groups also opposed the coordinated protest, saying it would hurt their members up and down the West Coast.
Two terminals were shut down at the Port of Portland during the morning, and the small Washington state port of Longview closed when roughly 100 protesters staged a dawn rally. There also were standoffs at ports such as Long Beach and San Diego, but all terminals at those facilities remained open.
In Seattle, protests Monday evening led to several arrests as well as clashes between police and demonstrators. Police used pepper spray and percussion grenades against the crowd of several hundred protesters, some of whom reportedly were throwing rebar and flares at officers.
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 12: Protesters attempt to block an entrance to the Port of Oakland on December 12, 2011 in Oakland, California. Following a general strike coordinated by Occupy Oakland shut down the port on November 2 hundreds are expected to affect all West Coast ports as Occupy movements in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, Portland, Seattle and Tacoma have joined the demonstration. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images) Photo: Kimberly White, Getty Images
Christy Wong, of San Jose, chants at police officers after blocking an entrance to the Port of Oakland, Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Anti-Wall Street protesters along the West Coast joined an effort Monday to blockade some of the nation's busiest docks, with the idea that if they cut off the ports, they cut into corporate profits. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach) Photo: Beck Diefenbach, AP
Melvin Kelley of Oakland places an Occupy Oakland sign in front of a tent after marching with others from Tactical Action Committee to join other protesters in front of the entrance to Berths 55 and 56 at the Port of Oakland on Monday, December 12, 2011 in Oakland, Calif. Almost half the berths at the Port of Oakland have temporarily ceased operations Monday after hundreds of protesters spent the morning blocking intersections in the port. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle
Protesters from Occupy sit on roof of trunks that were stopped by the crowd of activists at Port of Oakland, Monday December 12, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. The evening shift at the port was closed and will reopen at 3a.m. Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle
A member of the Occupy movement pounds the side of trucks that were stopped by the protest at the Port of Oakland, Monday December 12, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. This was part of a West Coast protest in port cities. Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle
Occupy Oakland protestors shut down the port and climb on top of trapped semi trucks in Oakland, Calif., Monday, December 12, 2011. Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle
Hundreds of Occupy activists march down Adeline Street to the Port of Oakland in hopes to suit it down, Monday December 12, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. This was part of a West Coast protest in port cities. Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle
Gilda Cage of San Francisco stands in a cut out of the "pepper spraying cop" , while another protester acts the part of a protester who had been sprayed as they gathered with others in front of the entrance to Berths 55 and 56, at the Port of Oakland on Monday, December 12, 2011 in Oakland, Calif. Almost half the berths at the Port of Oakland have temporarily ceased operations Monday after hundreds of protesters spent the morning blocking intersections in the port. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle
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