OWS Planning to Shut Down all Major West Coast Ports Today

Back on December 1st, Van Jones tweeted an article that called on all OWS protesters to join in the attempt to shut down all major ports on the west coast on December 12th.

Last week, I contacted the office of House Judiciary Committee chairman, Lamar Smith (R-TX) to request that someone on his committee ask Attorney General Eric Holder what the latter was planning to do about the proposed shutdown scheduled to take place today. That question was never asked of Holder during the December 8th hearing.

Now, whether this planned shutdown amounts to anything has yet to be seen. In fact, OWS enthusiasm has actually been waning of late so it's quite possible that there will be no significant disruption. Then again, it's not like these plans have been unavailable for public consumption so there really should be no shutdown.

Besides, there's another interesting twist to the story. Apparently, the Longshoremen aren't all that interested in OWS shutting down their ports...or are they?

Here is an excerpt from the Workers World website via Michelle Malkin:

Battle lines have formed as the West Coast Occupy movements, from San Diego to Alaska, flex their collective muscle against the federally coordinated, brutal attacks targeting the pro-Occupy Wall Street movements across the country. They are organizing for blockades of West Coast ports on Dec. 12 in San Diego; Los Angeles/Long Beach; Port Hueneme, Calif. (central coast); Oakland; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Tacoma, Wash.; and possibly more. Solidarity actions have been called by OWS in New York and inland locations, as well. 

The pro-OWS movement is aligning itself with labor and the working class, as the West Coast Occupy movements organize to support the struggle of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in Longview, Wash. Longshore workers there are waging a ferocious battle against transnational EGT, controlled by Bunge Ltd., of the grain cartel that controls most of the world’s trade in food products. EGT is trying to break the ILWU in an attempt to drive down wages and destroy the union. (Read “Longshore workers call for anti-racist unity in their ranks” at www.workers.org/2011/us/ilwu_0922) 

The West Coast Occupy movements are also aligning with the struggle of port truckers, who are fighting for the right to organize for union representation. Twenty-six of them were fired in Los Angeles for wearing Teamster jackets to work. Occupy LA and Long Beach are targeting SSA, an anti-union port terminal operator, majority owned by Goldman Sachs, the notorious Wall Street investment bank. Teamster president, Jimmy Hoffa Jr., has publicly expressed support for the Occupy movement.

Today is the day. Stay tuned.

Much more HERE.