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Long Lines At Oakland Port After One-Day Union Stand Down

OAKLAND (KCBS) - Longshoremen returning to work Thursday at the Port of Oakland were met by a large back-up of trucks unable to deliver goods when the docks closed earlier in the week because a worker died on the job.

A spokesman for Cal/OSHA said 45-year-old Joy Daniels apparently had a seizure Tuesday just before the tractor she was driving ran into a stationary object and killed her.

In addition to the many rigs already at the port when the crash happened, many truckers unaware of the crash showed up the next day, unaware that such accidents typically lead to one-day stand downs.

Long Lines At Oakland Port After One-Day Union Stand Down

Port operations resumed at 6 p.m. Wednesday, with gates normally closed overnight staying open to accommodate the residual traffic, but that was not enough to prevent miles-long lines of trucks the next morning.

"I got here at 5:50 and I've been sitting out," said Ken Fryer, a trucker from Davis whose rig had been inching down Seventh Street for hours since he got off the freeway at West Grand Avenue.

During the morning rush hour, one of the back-ups extended onto the Interstate 880 freeway at both Broadway and 7th streets.

Michael Villeggiante, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10, offered an apology, but said it's up to port officials and the shipping companies to advise trucks and vessels of any closures.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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