OAKLAND (KCBS RADIO) – Amid stalled contract negotiations, longshoremen at the Port of Oakland walked off the job in protest on Wednesday morning.
The walkout has shut down operations on all four of the port's terminals.
Approximately two dozen longshoremen were at the Oakland International Container Terminal – terminal three – with around the same numbers at the other terminals.
The longshoremen have been working without a contract since July and are demanding improved benefits and pay from the Pacific Maritime Association after working through the COVID-19 pandemic without pause.
"We mean business," Keith Shanklin, one of the longshoremen, told KCBS Radio. "It's not just about money. It's about our livelihood here."
"In order to preserve what you have, you have to be willing to fight for it. And we're willing to fight for it, we're willing to step out and do what we have to do to make them understand it. We're serious about it, this is not something that we're playing around with," he continued.
The two sides have not gone to the bargaining table in months and the longshoreman hope this action today could bring the two sides back together.
The Pacific Maritime Association, through a statement on its website, said "we will engage in good faith talks, and believe a contract must be achieved without work disruptions at our marine terminals. A disruption of any kind would be devastating to an already vulnerable supply chain."
The walkout did frustrate some independent truckers like Michael Huynh, who said his dispatcher sent him home after he spent hours inside the terminal.
"I'm stuck here and I'm not moving anywhere so I'm not making any type of money," he explained. "I'm not feeding my family."
"None of the stuff is getting out into the market. So logistically speaking it's a nightmare."
The Port of Oakland told KCBS Radio in a statement that they are "aware and closely monitoring the situation. We are working with our maritime partners so that we can keep international commerce flowing in order to preserve local jobs. The Port is hopeful the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association can resolve this so that Oakland importers and exporters are not impacted."
"Protesters have cleared the seaport area and our international marine terminals will try to reopen for tonight’s work shift."
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