Stories that matter

[Gallery] Occupy Oakland Declares Victory After 24-Hour Port Shutdown

Gallery by Rachel Krantz on December 13, 2011

Occupy Oakland protesters arrive at the Port of Oakland. Photo: Ethan Stark for Turnstyle News.

Thousands of protesters halted a 6 p.m. evening shift at the Port of Oakland on Monday, and an early morning shift at 3 a.m. Tuesday, which resulted in 24 hours of stalled work. The port closure was the largest event Occupy Oakland had organized since its encampment was evicted nearly a month ago on Nov. 14.

Protesters took the Port of Oakland without confrontation yesterday morning at 5:30 a.m. and last night around 6 p.m.

“Attention please, the 6 p.m. shift has been cancelled,” a self-identified anarchist named Matt shouted into a megaphone. “We won! Please head to the general assembly to decide whether or not to extend the shutdown.” SF Gate reports that “a small band of activists” successfully shut down the 3 a.m. shift as well.

An hour before the general assembly, Oakland Occupiers seemed to be in a celebratory mood. As some protesters smoked against palm trees, a dad played tag with his son and a live punk band entertained the crowd.

“We f!@#ing won!” The front-woman for the band screamed into the mic.

“What’s next though?” the singer continued. “I’m for some campaign finance reform. Are you guys familiar with Citizen’s United? Corporate personhood? We need to get money out of politics. We need to take our system back.”

A few feet away from the band, Jason Wallach was manning True Justice Bike Repair. Wallach has offered free repairs to bikers since the beginning of Occupy Oakland actions.

“The movement has always been about more than occupying a physical space. It’s about creating a conceptual space for a utopia. Like in my utopia, people should have access to transportation that doesn’t kill the planet.”

Wallach noted that the original Occupy Oakland encampment at Frank Ogawa plaza was a helpful way to mobilize the movement.

“I’m an advocate of trying to figure out how we can occupy a space again. But while we’re in this phase we need to demonstrate our power as a movement. And this, tonight, is a great way to do it.”