Occupy San Diego to Establish Picket Blockade at Port

OCCUPY SAN DIEGO
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For Immediate Release: December 5, 2011

Contact:

info@occupysd.org

Kali Katt 1-619-916-1304
Rick Halsey 760-822-0029

Occupy San Diego to Establish Picket Blockade at Port

Local citizens to support coordinated effort along the entire West Coast in solidarity with other Occupations

Monday, December 5, 2011 – In response to coordinated attacks across the nation on the Occupy movement by the 1% on Monday, December 12 Occupy San Diego will stand in solidarity with other West Coast occupations in a West Coast Port Blockade to disrupt the economic apparatus of the 1% using a peaceful, nonviolent picket line.  OSD is asking participants meet at Chicano Park at 6am with supplies to be prepared to stay the day and late into the evening, at least.   

The West Coast Port Blockade was called upon by Occupy Oakland and is in solidarity with the Longshoremen in Longview, WA in their struggle against the multinational corporation EGT, and with the struggle of port truckers in Los Angeles against Goldman Sachs.  The 1% has disrupted the lives of longshoremen, port truckers and all other workers, just as the 1% has also coordinated nationwide police attacks turning US cities into battlegrounds in an effort to disrupt the Occupy Movement. Occupy San Francisco, Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy Portland, Occupy Tacoma, Occupy Seattle and Occupy Vancouver have all joined in responding to the West Coast call of action by Occupy Oakland.

Participating occupations are asked to encourage that during the port shutdowns the local arbitrator rules in favor of longshoremen not crossing community picket lines in order to avoid recriminations against them. Should there be any retaliation against any workers as a result of their honoring pickets or supporting our port actions, or in the event of police repression of any of the mobilizations, additional solidarity actions will be prepared and shutdown actions may be extended to multiple days.

On Nov. 2, 2011 30,000 protestors shut down the Port of Oakland after Occupy Oakland called for a Day of Action in solidarity with Longview longshoremen. On Nov. 19 Longview workers Local 21 president Dan Coffman said, “You cannot believe what you did for the inspiration of my union members who’ve been on the picket line for 6 months.”  Then on Dec 2, 2011 International Longshore and Warehouse Union office clerical workers in Los Angeles-Long Beach walked off the job and formed a picket line shutting down the port and calling off 18 month contract negotiations.

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About EGT and Goldman Sachs

EGT is a multinational grain exporter consortium. Bunge Ltd is the largest partner in EGT who reported 2.5 billion dollars in profit last year alone, has direct ties to Wall Street, and has caused economic despair in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and now the United States. EGT has been rupturing ILWU jurisdiction in Longview, Washington and bringing in scab labor.

Goldman Sachs owns a large part of the SSA port terminals and is guilty of facilitating the exploitation of non-union and short-run, port truck drivers who have struggled for dignified and humane conditions in the workplace for several years now. These independent truck drivers are primarily immigrant workers who are pitted against each other and receive low wages and unreliable hours while Goldman Sachs, the shipping companies and their underlings, reap record profits.

EGT and Goldman Sachs are the 1%. The Occupy Movement is committed to shutting down the 1% and is using its collective political power in order to confront the 1% with mass mobilizations that shut down sites of profit.

Through it’s exploitation of both human and natural resources, Wall Street has sent our local communities and families a message that people and the planet are less important than profit. Join with Occupy San Diego for a day of action at the San Diego Port to tell Wall Street to put people first!