Port of Oakland is shut down!

[hootinholler]

From livestream. The port of Oakland is reported shut down. A mile long line of container trucks sitting on the road waiting to get in.

:bounceygreenhappythangojoy:

[valerief]

1. WOW!!!! nt

[femrap]

2. This is in conjunction

OWS??? Very cool.

[RandySF]

8. Not really.

The dock workers union organized a work stoppage over questions about container safety.

[valerief]

11. Doesn't that sound like spin to cover the planned strike? nt

[RandySF]

15. No

The union is complaining loudly and rightfully about refrigerated containers that have been exploding in various ports. I'm 100% behind OWS, but I like to have facts straight.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_19242889

[LanternWaste]

26. "port officials said the docks would be open...."

It would appear that the union has also been voicing support for OWS. I imagine support for the one may have been instrumental in the timing of the strike... solidarity and all that. :shrug:


"...Unions, including the California Nurses Association, SEIU Local 1021, the Oakland Educational Association and the longshoreman's union also have expressed support without vowing to strike; walkouts could violate their labor agreements." contrasted against "While some small city businesses planned to close Wednesday, port officials said the docks would be open...."


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2016665799_occupy02.html

[global1]

3. Help Me Here - Why Is It Shut Down? And Who Shut It Down?.....nt

[piratefish08]

5. the people.

[tk2kewl]

6. OWS Oakland organized a general strike today

to protest the OPD crackdown last week that put Scot Olsen in a coma.

[xchrom]

7. OWS oakland.

it's part of a general strike.

[hootinholler]

12. ILW rank and file members shut it down.

I'm assuming there was a picket line they did not cross.

[maddezmom]

32. thanks for the info

;)

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. The power always was, and always is, in the hands of the people!

:patriot:

[TBF]

9. K&R nt

[MicaelS]

10. Could it be related to the exploding reefer containers?

From MSNBC - 8,000 deadly exploding containers feared on loose

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45128660/ns/local_news-seattle_wa/#.TrF0HrKwU2E

SEATTLE -- Emergency procedures are being instituted at ports in Western Washington after a string of problems with exploding shipping containers. The problem, say those familiar with the situation, is not with the cargo but with the containers themselves.

At issue are refrigerated containers called “reefers,” which passed through Vietnam since the first of the year. The working theory is the units have been contaminated with bad coolant which can become explosive when exposed to oil, even air. There could be as many as 8,000 worldwide, according to one shipping industry estimate.

But it is still a theory. “What seems strange to us as a union is that they cannot pinpoint the problem,” said Chris Peeler, a member of the Labor Relations Committee of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, local 19 in Seattle.

The Ports of Seattle and Tacoma both acknowledged they are working with the ILWU, the Pacific Maritime Association, the group representing the shipping lines, and the United States Coast Guard. New procedures are now in place to quarantine suspect refrigerated containers until it is proved they have not passed through Vietnam since the beginning of 2011, or are rendered safe.

More at link....

[valerief]

14. Convenient story, isn't it? nt

[EFerrari]

16. Here's the Contra Costa Times live update blog:

http://www.mercurynews.com/occupy-oakland/ci_19247016

[RandySF]

18. Maybe, but it's also the truth

Perhaps the union decided it was a good idea to hold the strike in conjunction with OWS, but the causes were clearly stated by the union.

[MicaelS]

19. Not convenient at all, people have died...

Those Union member are trying to protect each other, and the public.

"Trade industry reports say two workers have been killed in Vietnam and another in Brazil. There are no reports of workers injured in the United States."

[libertypirate]

27. That only effects 2 terminals, the whole port is down /nt

[Warren DeMontague]

42. ...madness.

as in--

oh, never mind.

[RandySF]

13. I don't think it's all about the general strike OWS

Terminal traffic at the Port of Oakland was disrupted for the second straight day Tuesday over concerns about hazardous shipping containers, and the problem could grow worse if Wednesday's planned general strike shuts down the port.

The dockworkers' union first forced the shutdown of the SSA and TraPac marine terminals Monday because it did not want its workers endangered by refrigerated containers that had been serviced in Vietnam during March and April and could explode when they are powered up.

According to an Oct. 26 article in World Cargo News, refrigerated containers have been quarantined around the world after reports of "compressor explosions and incidents of spontaneous combustion that have resulted in at least three fatalities."


http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_19242889

[Leopolds Ghost]

17. So I take it the union would not strike for reasons other than technical safety issues?

[RandySF]

20. Perhaps the timing was advantageous

But the root cause is the refrigerated containers exploding in Asia.

[Modern_Matthew]

21. This is strictly due to OWS. Be wary of anyone saying otherwise. nt

[MicaelS]

22. Rubbish, people have DIED...

Unions are trying to protect their members lives.

[TheWraith]

25. You mean like the union that organized the shutdown?

:eyes:

The potential of some people to have faith-based "knowledge" scares me.

[fascisthunter]

28. then you scare yourself

[Modern_Matthew]

41. All the sources that matter have reported it as in solidarity with the general strike...

Including a member of the ILWU that has addressed Occupy Oakland numerous times. No matter how contrarian people wish to be, it doesn't change the facts.

[IndyPragmatist]

35. Hijacking a protest hurts the cause

They are demanding safer conditions. If this becomes part of OWS, then they don't have the leverage that they once had. They are trying to accomplish something specific: increasing safety in regards to exploding containers.

People here were up in arms when Ron Paul supporters showed up at OWS. But this is okay?

[Zorra]

38. Ron Paul supports wealthy private interests gaining more wealth

and subsequently more power to control the government.

The direct opposite of a major, and arguably, the primary concern, of OWS. Many of Paul's positions are contrary to the concerns of OWS.

Political positions of Ron Paul

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul

[Lindsay]

23. Whether or not there's a planned connection

between this and OWS, they're all part of the same larger issue.

And we of the 99% are all in this together.

[flamingdem]

24. Any media coverage on this yet or is Cain the only thing on? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Bread and circus so far

Add the Kardashians.

[wiggs]

29. If true...amazing. Can't remember something like this...a labor strike on general

protests, not having to do with specific union contracts.

[maddezmom]

30. kick

and rec'd :kick:

[Beam Me Up]

31. SEATLE TIMES reporting Port shut down (link)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2016665799_occupy02.html

[glowing]

33. Okland announced a General Strike a few days ago. OWS is in support of it

the people are in support of this. The Unions are in support of this. Titles and "groups" do not matter; the people of Oakland are on strike.

[anamandujano]

37. K&R your post!

Very well stated.

[backscatter712]

34. YES!!!!

SHUT IT DOWN!!!

[lapislzi]

36. What I know about ports, strikes, and Oakland

Part of my job is logistics manager for our small business. We bring in several container loads every week from Asia. It's my job to know what's going on at all the ports of entry so I can make informed decisions about how to route goods.

Oakland is ALWAYS the first to strike when there's a dispute. Oakland unions will strike in solidarity with other unions almost all the time.

A large percentage of inbound freight moves through the Port of Oakland on a daily basis. It's high shipping season for holiday product in every retail niche imaginable. Unless the governor invokes Taft-Hartley, a lot of businesses are going to be hurt.

As goes Oakland, so goes the nation. The last time the Port of Oakland shut down, LA and NY went down in solidarity. This could get very big.

BTW, just because I'm in logistics doesn't mean I'm not in solidarity with #OccupyOakland. While nobody needs my company's crap, I do need a job...

[Zorra]

39. _^_

[AikidoSoul]

43. Waaaaaay cool!

Makes my heart leap for joy.

Even if it's being done purportedly because of a "container safety" issue, the timing is great and it plugs into OWS very neatly.

:bounce: