Acting on an ill-defined “anti-corporate-greed” message, protesters in the so-called Occupy Wall Street movement recently shut down or curtailed activity at several important ports along the West Coast, leaving ships full of cargo unloaded.
Ironically, their actions at ports in Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; and Longview, Wash., not only harmed the U.S. economy by slowing trade and commerce but harmed ordinary workers such as longshoremen and truckers.
“Today’s disruptions have been costly to port workers and their families in terms of lost wages and shifts,” a Port of Oakland spokeswoman told The Associated Press.
A truck driver who couldn’t get through the demonstration at Oakland was plainly disgusted about losing $600 in pay because of the delay.
“This is a joke. What are they protesting?” asked Christian Vega, who was sitting in a truck full of recycled paper. “It only hurts me and the other drivers. We have jobs and families to support and feed. Most of them don’t.”