Occupy has targeted West Coast ports for labor actions on 12/12. This is a mistake, unless Occupy can learn something about the labor movement. Learn why the "general strike" of 2011 was not a general strike, compared to 1946 and 1934. Here's the link, if you're curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_West_Coast_waterfront_strike. The ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union) and the Teamsters control the Port of Oakland. They are not the enemy.
This is the essential failure of the Occupy movement -- they target local governments for what is the fault of the Federal government. There is nothing the City of Oakland, or any other city, can do to change the taxation structure, or the austerity movement, of the Federal government. If you want to make your point, camp out on the Washington DC Mall, or in front of whatever Federal Building is nearby. Leave the cities alone. And blockading the ports is just a dumb move. The ILWU and Teamsters are your friends if you approach them correctly, but if you understand their history, they have never given ground to people who tell them what to do. Furthermore, they have a lot more longevity and muscle power than the Occupy movement does. Occupy would do well to make friends, and learn. The labor movement has been doing this for over 100 years.
Or, correct me if I'm wrong. I keep reading about how this is in solidarity with ILWU actions in Longview, WA. The situation in Longview is definitely not right. A multinational is importing scabs to build a new facility after promising local jobs to the people of Longview. OK, that's messed up. But when the other ILWU locals are saying, don't blockade the ports, why are you doing it? Just to get arrested, and make a point? Do it in Washington, where it counts. Stop tearing up Oakland, stop tearing up other working-class cities. Go to where the 1% live, stop doing it where the 99% work. The Occupy movement needs to grow up, or become developmentally arrested.
The problem with the movement is there is no unified voice. Some people are rallying to shut down banks, while others want a total overhaul of the US economy. Then there are those who want total anarchy. I even saw a large photo of Oscar Grant at one of the protests in Oakland. What does Oscar Grant's unfortunate death have to do with the Occupy Movement?
ReplyDeleteI believe the original point of the protest, the original Occupy movement on Wall St, was to get in the face of the people who are at the heart of the US economic system. Of course, it didn't make much of a change except that BoFA did stop charging $5 per ATM transactions. I certainly have yet to hear a word from Obama about the movement.
I don't believe an attempt to shutdown one of the ports on the west coast will do much other than temporarily halt trade. And what will that do in the long run? Nothing. I think a boycott is a far more effective approach. The Montgomery bus boycott in the 1960s is a great example of effective protest. If individuals would stop banking with the big banks and move their money to credit unions or small independent banks, they'd make a huge statement that might promote some kind of change if banks are the problem. And, they are part of the problem. An encampment right out front of the US Capitol building might be an even better location for a sit-in protest, if the problem is the US Congress (they are the ones who can make some changes in our economic system). Food for thought...
Here is a worthy source for news. Truthout - ttp://www.thruth-out.org They have been covering the Occupy movement daily.
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