West Coast Occupy protesters target major ports
Protestors stand off with police after blocking the road leading to SSA Marine, a shipping company that is partially owned by investment bank Goldman Sachs at the Port of Long Beach on December 12, 2011 in Long Beach, California. Following a general strike coordinated by Occupy Oakland that closed the Oakland port on November 2 hundreds are expected to try and shut down all West Coast ports as Occupy movements in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, Portland, Seattle and Tacoma have joined the demonstration.
From Anchorage to San Diego, Occupy protesters moved Monday to shut down West Coast ports in major cities Monday, the Associated Press reported.
The latest “Wall Street on the waterfront” Occupy movement is a result from American ports being “economic engines for the elite,” protesters say. The move comes six weeks after 7,000 to 10,000 Occupy Oakland protesters shut down the port there on Nov. 2, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
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About 1,000 protesters marched in West Oakland Monday morning, disrupting port operations, KQED said. The waterfront protests have been weaker in other cities where a few hundred have showed up.
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Occupy protesters have been targeting the giant West Coast port operator SSA Marine, which Goldman Sachs owns a major stake in, and grain exporter EGT, saying the epitomize the “1 percent.”
Protesters are planning to blockade ports in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, British Columbia and other West Coast cities.