Occupy The Ports Shuts Down Ports Operated By Goldman Sachs

Monday, Occupy The Ports (OTP) took to west coast shipping ports in an attempt to chip away at a notable investment banking company who's profits come through port terminal operations.

In an organized effort, OTP protestors caused disturbances at the ports of Oakland, Los Angeles, Long Beach and Seattle. Their goal? To disrupt and block the economic apparatus of the wealthy 1%.

In Oakland, California, OTP protesters shut down the port, sending hundreds of local port workers home. Truckers ready to move cargo were left twiddling their thumbs and idled. Port authorities said that the friction between both protesters and workers caused concerned about safety which led to the shutdown.

An estimated 1500 protesters proceeded down the streets blocking trucks from loading cargo. This was far less than the estimated 60,000 people who showed up for the November 2nd protest.

Oakland Port is the the fifth largest in the United States.

What major news outlets will fail to tell you, is that OTP chose to shut down west coast ports in attempt to make a statement aimed at Goldman Sachs, the large investment bank.

Goldman, which received $10 billion dollars in tax payer TARP funds from the financial crisis, is considered to be the economic engine for the top wealthy 1% by OTP. For the first three quarters of 2011, Goldman Sachs set aside $10 billion in salaries and bonuses for their 34,200 staff worldwide. This amounts to nearly $300,000 in compensation per employee.

OTP specifically aimed their efforts at disturbing SSA Marine, a global carrier company that operates port terminal operations in the United States. The company provides trucking, warehousing, and port terminal management. They are the largest cargo terminal operator in the world.

So what's the tie in? Goldman Sachs has a majority 51% ownership in SSA Marine.

About Kerry Kobashi

Kerry is the founder of KerryOnWorld. He lives in Silicon Valley and has worked as an engineer and project manager. He owns Kobashi Computing a consulting company.