Picket line blocks Port of Oakland activity

One of America's busiest ports was disrupted Tuesday by striking custodial and maintenance workers

Published November 20, 2012 9:54PM (EST)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Custodial and maintenance workers picketed Tuesday at one of the nation's busiest ports, blocking trucks from picking up and delivering goods on what had been expected to be a busy day before the holidays.

Ships waited at six of the seven terminals at the Port of Oakland, as intermittent rain soaked hundreds of angry workers who carried signs and blocked entrances during the one-day protest over stalled contract talks.

Passing motorists blared horns and supporters pounded drums as strikers chanted, "Shut it down, we're a union town!"

"We're letting management and the public know that they can't treat us like that," said Lynn Riordan, a communications staffer for Service Employees International Union Local 1021.


By Associated Press

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