Occupy Wall Street protesters look to block West Coast ports

Anti-Wall Street protesters, hoping to briefly disrupt a key supply chain of American commerce and re-energize their movement, have planned to attempt to block major ports on the West Coast, Reuters reported.

According to the news source, marching on the proposed ports, from California to Alaska, is a move that looks to call attention to the economic inequalities that exist in the country. Although the protesters are looking to deal with a national problem, workers at the port will have to focus on supply chain management to keep the commerce centers operational.

A plan to shutter multiple ports simultaneously could prove difficult because some of the facilities are in massive complexes, according to Reuters, and the entrances would be difficult for even a large number of demonstrators to block.

The news source reported that the activists aligned with the Occupy Wall Street movement did succeed in shuttering the port of Oakland, California, for several hours. The facility was the fifth busiest commerce center in the country.

Organizers for the movement are also looking to disrupt operations at the combined ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, along with sites outside of California that include Portland, Anchorage, Seattle, Tacoma and Houston.

"The objective of the day is to shut down the port through mass action," Mike King, a graduate student who acts as a media liaison for Occupy Oakland, told Reuters. "The Occupy movement is attacking the 1 percent at their point of profit."

The news source reported that police in several of these cities were not disclosing their future plans for dealing with the protesters and the possible port closures that may result from their actions.

Oakland port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read noted that the facility is trying to address union and environmental issues that the protesters have brought up as problems with the supply chain management for the site.

"The port empathizes with the issues brought up by the Occupy movement," he told Reuters. "But we have a strategy for inclusive development. Shutting down the port is only going to hurt the people they are trying to help."

The Oakland Tribune reported that local organizations have spoken out against the proposed actions by the protesters, as they noted the shutdown would hurt low-paid truck drivers and blue-collar workers.