Tuesday, May 1, 2012

May Day Protestors Affect Bay Area Waterfront


ILWU Local 10, some of whose members work with Occupy Oakland in two port shutdowns last fall, conducted a daytime work stoppage at the Port of Oakland May 1 as part of annual May Day protests.

Local 10’s rank-and-file members did not work the eight-hour day shift at the port in observance of International Workers Day, commonly known as May Day.

May 1 is observed by labor activists and others as International Workers Day, and the day is typically marked in parts of the world with marches, protests, walk outs and one-day strikes. Oakland and Los Angeles are West Coast cities that typically have heavy turnout for May Day activities.

This marks the third time in seven months that the Port of Oakland has been affected by protests and labor unrest. Last November, about 3,000 protestors associated with the Occupy movement were successful in shutting down swing shift operations at the port for hours. In December, about 1,500 Occupy protestors disrupted port operations by marching on terminals.