Port Shutdown 12/12: The Day After

[Terry Bain]

Armchair quarterbacks are hard at work, on the day after the 12/12 Port shutdown.  One change seems to be obvious - there are no reports of  protesters critically hospitalized by police. That is certainly a step in the right direction.  Non-violent protest has become more of a two-way street, today.

A UK Telegraph article wrote, "Former Marine Scott Olsen, whose injury during clashes between Oakland police and demonstrators in October gave fresh impetus to protests, later led an afternoon march in Oakland.

"Occupy Oakland spokesman Mike King called the blockade a success, saying cargo traffic at the port was limited to just two vessels in anticipation of the demonstration, and that longshoremen and Teamsters were largely absent from work.

"'Nobody crossed the picket line, and most truckers stayed away,' King said, adding that the only cargo loaded onto trucks in the terminal yards was material already taken off ships," according to the Telegraph.

Another obvious trend: the news blackout has definitely been shattered. Thousands of news sources, worldwide, have rediscovered the Occupy Movement. The ominous lack of media coverage has ended. It is no surprise that the paid media spinning of the event as a bad thing is in high gear. 

The Guardian's Adam Gabbat wrote, "Occupy protesters were facing growing criticism over Monday's attempt to shut down the ports of America's west coast, with unions condemning the action that left hundreds of its members unable to work.

"Terminals were effectively closed at Longview, Oakland and Portland, but plans to shut down the entire west coast failed after other protests saw relatively small turnouts," according to Gabbat.

Gabbat noted that the shutdown was never supported by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)  and wrote, "Craig Merrilees, communications director at the ILWU, told the Guardian on Tuesday that in Oakland 'three shifts of workers lost a day's pay, and many other port workers were in that situation'.

"'I'm sure the union president would want to emphasise that the cause of the 99% and the problem of corporate greed in America is a serious one, and efforts to address that are to be saluted and supported," he said.

"'But it shouldn't happen at the expense of respecting the democratic structure and process of the ILWU and any other union,'" according to Gabbat.

No estimate of how much money was lost because of the 12/12 shutdown is available, yet.  According to Gavin Aronsin, in an article in Mother Jones, "...Oakland's general strike on November 2 resulted in a port shutdown, costing the city a reported $4 million...."

According to Aronsin, despite lack of official labor support, "... several truckers honked in support of Occupy Oakland, and some ILWU workers strongly supported the port's second shutdown....One, a business agent watching the blockade from a company van who said his name was L.T., told me that protesters 'need to stay your ground. I'm not crossing the picket line.' Responding to ILWU president Robert McEllrath's letter criticizing the shutdown, he said, 'We don't give a damn.'" Aronsin wrote.