Port Protest in Long Beach Has Minimal Impact
Protesters planning a day of disruptive behavior Monday at West Coast ports were relatively unsuccessful in shutting down cargo traffic in Southern California.
But protesters at the Port of Oakland in Northern California and at the Port of Portland in Oregon were more aggressive in their efforts, blocking some terminals where workers were sent home.
The Port of Los Angeles, one of the largest ports in the United States, was not targeted.
However, about 300 to 400 demonstrators aligned with the Occupy Wall Street movement gathered at 5 a.m. at the Harry Bridges Memorial Park near Southern California's Port of Long Beach, where they marched down Harbor Scenic Drive toward Pier J, hoping to block entry to the Pacific Container Terminal. The major imports received in thePort ofLong Beach include crudeoil, electronics, plastics, furniture, and clothing.
The Pacific Container Terminal is used primarily by China Ocean Shipping Co. and is serviced by SSA Marine stevedore services. SSA Marine was a specific target of the protestors because investment bank Goldman Sachs, which was bailed out by the government during the financial crisis, is a partial owner of SSA Marine.
The south gate to Pier J was blocked for a while, but longshore workers were able to access the terminal through the north gate, said John Pope, a spokesperson for the Port of Long Beach.
“There was some congestion [on Harbor Scenic Drive] between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.,” Pope said, noting the road is used by trucks going to and from the port and Pier J.
Right before 10 a.m., law enforcement officials, headed by the Long Beach Police Department, dispersed the crowd. Long Beach police arrested two demonstrators, officials said. They were Nathaniel Sierdsma, 18, of San Bernardino, Calif., and Kwazi Nkrumah, 57, of Los Angeles. Both were booked on misdemeanors for resisting arrest and blocking a police officer. Bail was set at $10,000 each.
After 10 a.m., port activity returned to normal. “The overall effect to port operations was fairly minimal,” Pope said.
Demonstrators did not picket the Port of Los Angeles, said port spokesperson Phillip Sanfield.
Things weren’t as rosy in Northern California, where as many as 1,000 demonstrators blocked three of the six gates at the Port of Oakland. Shipping companies and the longshore workers’ union agreed to send home at least 150 workers.
In Portland, where two people were arrested for carrying weapons, protesters shut down two of the port’s busiest terminals, press reports said.—Deborah Belgum
