Flyers and other forms of information being distributed by members of the Occupy movement have given insight into what the loosely-knit group’s plans are for staging demonstrations at ports along the West Coast on Dec. 12.
According to Occupy LA, demonstrators will gather in Long Beach at 5 am at Harry Bridges Park on the day of the protest and then march to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. A second march is planned for 5 pm.
Occupy Oakland members are planning to converge at the West Oakland BART station at 5:30 am, and then march to the Port of Oakland. A second march and rally is planned for the start of the port’s 5 pm swing shift.
In the Pacific Northwest, Seattle Occupiers are planning to meet at Westlake Park in downtown at 1 pm and then march to the port for a picket and blockade. Portland protesters are planning to meet at 6 am at Kelly Point Park to organize and march, then converge at the same park again at 4 pm to prepare for a “shift blockade.”
In Vancouver, British Columbia, organizers say a 12-hour shutdown is planned, starting with a noon meeting at Callister Park.
San Diego’s Occupiers plant to meet at Chicano Park in the city’s Barrio Logan area at 6 am, and then march to the port for a daylong blockade.
Occupiers in the port cities of Anchorage, Alaska and Tacoma, Washington are also planning rallies and demonstrations for Dec. 12.
All the actions are being planned without official support from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, whose leadership has said it does not condone the possible work stoppage.
However, members of the Doro-Chiba railway workers union in Japan will demonstrate on Dec. 12, according to Occupy, as a show of solidarity with the West Coast port shutdown.
They’re expected to picket a facility of Japanese grain products marketer Itochu, which is a partner in EGT, the joint venture that operates a grain export terminal at the Port of Longview.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
