Occupy Oakland Calls for total west coast port shutdown on 12/12

Where and when will this end!Is there a wall between them and us?Who will break the wall?When will be dialogue?

TextIn response to coordinated attacks on the occupations and attacks on workers across the nation: Occupy Oakland calls for the blockade and disruption of the economic apparatus of the 1% with a coordinated shutdown of ports on the entire West Coast on December 12th. The 1% has disrupted the lives of longshoremen and port truckers and the workers who create their wealth, just as coordinated nationwide police attacks have turned our cities into battlegrounds in an effort to disrupt our Occupy movement. Read More...

source(occupywallst.org...

Proposal for a Coordinated West Coast Port Shutdown, Passed With Unanimous Consensus by vote of the Occupy Oakland General Assembly 11/18/2012:

Well, in a way I'm glad to see OWS is not playing around. On the other hand, I'm very suspicious of what this will turn into, and what these people have in mind for their end game. For the most part, they just seem angry (which is understandable), but that is not going to help them or anyone else. Longshoremen already make VERY respectable incomes, so it's difficult to understand why they would support such extreme measures.

In any case, I hope they're ready for the chaos this could cause. Shutting down the ports during the holidays is a BIT bigger deal than simply camping outside city hall. At worst, our government could consider this an act of war.

Another "peacefull" protest? The moment they block anyone or anything they are not using 1st amendment rights anymore. Maybe they just want another photo-op of being arrested.

Hurr Durr I want to protect the common man! Lets shut down the ports! No one works there! It isn't the backbone of the economy! Let's go slash truckers tires tomorrow!

OWS has gone from having my mild support to complete contempt. The protesters haven't quite pissed off the wrong people yet, but they're getting close and when it happens they will be getting the hell beat out of them. I'd help rough em up but I don't want to catch Hipster AIDS.

some history

Oakland's territory covers what was once a mosaic of coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Oakland served as a rich resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco, and Oakland's fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region. During the California Gold Rush, Oakland became the main staging post for passengers and cargo journeying between the Bay Area and the Sierra foothills. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. It continued to grow into the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile industry. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Franciscans left that city's destruction, and a great number of Oakland's homes were built during the 1910s and 1920s. An extensive streetcar network connected most of Oakland's neighborhoods to inter-city rail lines, most of whose routes continue as bus lines today. Ferry lines connected Oakland to San Francisco and other cities.source(en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by Domo1
Hurr Durr I want to protect the common man! Lets shut down the ports! No one works there! It isn't the backbone of the economy! Let's go slash truckers tires tomorrow!

OWS has gone from having my mild support to complete contempt. The protesters haven't quite pissed off the wrong people yet, but they're getting close and when it happens they will be getting the hell beat out of them. I'd help rough em up but I don't want to catch Hipster AIDS.

Domo,

I support OWS in principle and I can see some of the angst that others have against the movement. I just don't understand how someone can be totally against it unless they are bankers, port authorities, alphabet agencies and government officials, or last and least -- sheep.

It was mentioned in another thread and on Drudge that a lobbyist group with ties to the Republican party and Boener wanted to convince the American Bankers Association to allow them to commence a subversive campaign against the movement.

The OWS Oakland article above mentions how Goldman Sachs owns the SSA terminals in LA and I assume most know the involvement of Goldman Sachs in major failures, scams and money grabs of financial institutions and others.

Repeatedly we've seen what happens when a protest just sits around. Authorities in California are not as strong as in New York apparently or the Oakland ports would never have been shut down. Either that or OWS new york didn't want to take that extra step.

Domo, I don't support slashing tires, but a movement I do. Action is to be taken by the people when they see their livelihood being taken from them. It's just that simple. And it's the middle class types that actually would head the endeavor as they are the ones with the necessary strength and dignity.

It's a bigger problem when you see how we lose 15 factories a day here in the US since 2001 because of an inside job of US power brokers handing over power to other nations via free trade agreements and environmental scams.

An inside job is happening to us right now as we speak.

Nothing like Martial Law just in time for Christmas!!

Thank you Occupy Oakland. Your gift is indeed priceless. Keep pushing, I hear the California National Guard wants to meet you.

I wish y'all would stop acting brand new.

It was like 2 weeks ago that they effectively AND peacefully shut down a major port in Oakland. The port closed, the police watched, the people marched, rallied, and made their presence known. In addition, they gained support of plenty of people who worked at the port. Whatever violence took place, was AFTER the real protesters were gone late that night!

They have the ability to do this, stop doubting people, hoping for bad outcomes, and putting negativity in the air! All that negative energy floating out of y'all is causing the problems in the world. Start SUPPORTING or at least just being POSITIVE.

Shut.It.DOWN

ETA: And WTF is hipster AIDS? Why in the hell is rudeness a part of some peoples make up? They can't say anything without severely insulting somebody. No intelligent statement of a point.

Wow folks. You all should think beyond your noses. Yes I said it. Maybe I just like the pain.

The weight of the entire earth can't hold back the explosive power of magma. Magma is the crust's mother and father and it must heed to the warnings. Pressure meets with its opposite force every time. If you'll notice, the madness is only growing with the more police action and I think right now the people won't submit to martial law. If that happens, it would be the end of that region.

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


From their last effort

An estimated 11,000 workers lost wages as a result of the port closure, which is normally open 24 hours. The economic impact of the closure was also severe, and an estimated $4 million in revenue was lost as a result of the 12-hour closure.

I don't think these workers and the businesses will allow this to happen again right before Christmas and the end of the year.

oaklandnorth.net...

The city of Oakland and its port are already struggling financially and cannot afford another blow like that.

A little bit about the Port of Oakland

We have over $1.4 billion in debt and annual debt service payments of over $100 million a year for the foreseeable future, constraining the jobs we can create and investments we can make.
Economic conditions at the Port have forced us to reduce our workforce by 40% over the last seven years.
Air passenger volume is down over 30% since 2008.
We are operating at just over 50% capacity at our seaport, while there is increasing competition from alternative shipping gateways around the country and the world.

www.portofoakland.com...

“Any additional missed shifts represent economic hardship for maritime workers, truckers, and their families, as well as lost jobs and lost tax revenue for our region.”

“Continued disruptions will begin to lead to re-routing of cargo and permanent loss of jobs, a situation that would only exacerbate the on-going economic challenges of our region.”

www.mercurynews.com...

How would shutting down this port again help part of the hard working 99% who are struggling to make ends meet in a fragile economy?? This seems more like extortion rather than a protest.

Hey at least they are not trying to do it on Saturday!! They have learned something and it's people generally work Monday thru Friday. I guess they have never worked before so the concept is rather foreign to them

reply to post by jibeho


Hate to remind you, but that's kind of the point. The city loses money, and starts realizing that if it doesn't cater to or at least LISTEN to the people, they will mess up it's money. By your own logic, we were wrong for taking our money out of banks because they lost money, and some bankers are probably gonna lose jobs, right?

reply to post by diamondsmith


While I believe in and support OWS participants right to occupy and protest where and when within local laws, I question many occupiers motives.

It seems to me most faces in the media are of the age of 19 to 25. Many are college students. My question is "what have they done to earn the right to protest?"

Students: Are you in school with a grant or loan? If so it is probably from an institution using a bank that makes it's profit from investments. Impress me and give it up. You can't have it both ways. Is it because the loaning institution is going to want you to repay them?

Have you considered that your retired parents may rely on market investments?

Have you paid taxes for the last 5 years or 50 years as I have? Are people being laid off due to where you are occupying?

Profits from bail-outs need to end. Bail-outs cannot become a profit center for a company and must be paid back. Tight control and strict oversight of Wall Streets actions is a must.

I guess it just makes me not take OWS seriously when the young faces that I see on TV that have not had enough time or experience to make much of a contribution to the system that they want to change.

Please OWS, select your talking heads by life experience or the nations largest demographic, boomers, will not listen to your message.

Peace..............Yak055h

reply to post by yak055h

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness

That's just a reminder to all who think that a person actually needs to earn their way into this world by paying taxes.

I don't want to assume anything, but what channel are you watching or which media do you watch? If you are watching the main stream stuff like most Baby Boomers, then you're getting skewed info. I'm not arguing about the youthful faces, but I argue that the media portrays this as a bad thing or 'too young to know better' sort of platform.

The core of the movement started with just a handful of people tired of the fleecing of America (the true movement). Then OWS got bigger all of a sudden with the addition of labor unions that had a lot of power and people. Labor unions have that "Robinhood" view to take from Peter to pay Paul. This has hijacked the movement, but both views have now melded to create the 99% motto.

You may not like what you see, but what better way do you think these folks can restore the power Amerika once had?

These people are on the front line to fight for your freedoms. Our soldiers fighting in Afghanistan are not fighting for our freedoms. They are basically a private army fighting for opium and power for the unified international cartels. I want you to read that sentence again. Our soldiers are fighting for a unified international cartel, while our protesters are fighting for our freedoms at home on the front lines. I don't necessarily expect you to see that right away, because in all actuality hindsight is 20/20. It takes real courage to see what's going on and its super easy to cut things down. Try to fight your impulse to cut things down.

What detractors seem to not be realizing is that the Longshoremen wanted the initial Shutdown and they want this one as well, this is a coordinated effort of strike and protest between Occupy and Unions. Unions did and will strike because:

...the continued union-busting and attacks on organized labor, in particular the rupture of Longshoremen jurisdiction in Longview Washington by the EGT.

occupywallstreet.org

Also worth noting...

Participating occupations are asked to ensure that during the port shutdowns the local arbitrator rules in favor of longshoremen not crossing community picket lines in order to avoid recriminations against them. Should there be any retaliation against any workers as a result of their honoring pickets or supporting our port actions, additional solidarity actions should be prepared. In the event of police repression of any of the mobilizations, shutdown actions may be extended to multiple days.

reply to post by TheMatrixusesYou


You prove my point. Most Boomers watch the mainstream media. The message we are getting is not helping the movement. Like it or not if OWS does not have the support of the Boomers the movement is doomed. By the way the word Amerika is overused, unoriginal, trite and will not help the movements credibility. OWS needs to come up with words and chants that are non-sixties. We've heard them before. Funny that you zeroed in on the taxes. We need to get the Boomers on board or start this again in 10 to 15 years or so. OWS needs to zero in on the target audience that can accomplish change.


Peace...............yak055h