Independent Truckers Protest At Port Of Oakland; Some Terminals Closed
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - A protest by as many as 120 truckers forced some terminals at the Port of Oakland to close temporarily Monday but Oakland police were working to try to keep all the terminals operational, a port spokeswoman said.
Independent truckers said they were upset about delays during their drop-off and pickup process since they are paid by the load.
The truckers said they were also concerned about the costs of getting new trucks to comply with emissions requirements, which include replacing all trucks made before 2007.
The independent drivers, also called owner-operators, are not members of the longshoremen's union.
All but one of the five terminals at the port were able to conduct at least some type of operation Monday morning but the situation was "fluid" and sometimes terminals were closed and sometimes they were open, according to port spokeswoman Marilyn Sandifur.
At one point all the terminals were blocked by protesting truckers who blocked their gates, but Oakland police later came to the scene to make sure that trucks can get in and out of all the terminals, Sandifur said.
Sandifur estimated that about 100 to 120 truckers participated at the peak of the protest. She said that's a small percentage of the total of 6,800 registered truckers who do business at the port.
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