There was a good deal of confusion at the Port of Oakland Friday. The terminals were supposed to be open, but nobody showed up to work.
The Port chose to close the Oakland International Terminal and the Trapac Terminal as there wasn’t sufficient staff to operate the terminals safely.
NBC Bay Area spoke with the public information officer for the Port, who said the no show was “not on [their] radar at all.”
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The unexpected closure caused massive backups of semi-trucks waiting for a worker to help them unload their goods and the help that never came.
Later, the Pacific Maritime Association tweeted about the situation, blaming the shutdown on union action.
It said that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union staged “concerted and disruptive work actions” at marine terminals up and down the West Coast. Those locations included Oakland, Los Angeles, and Seattle.
The work stoppage may be related to ongoing contract negotiations between the ILWU and the PMA.
It’s unclear at present whether this will be a one-day strike or if it will continue in the coming weeks.
