Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Re:	Fatal Accident Shuts Down Port of Oakland

One of the busiest ports on the West Coast shut down its terminal Tuesday, grinding commercial shipping traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area to a halt following a fatal accident that claimed the life of a longshoreman.

Port of Oakland spokeswoman Brenda James confirmed that all the facility's terminals had been shut down for the day.

The work stoppage came after the coroner's office confirmed that a longshoreman had died around 4:30 p.m. Monday after suffering fatal injuries when a heavy container fell on him. On Monday night, a group of coworkers gathered for a prayer vigil at the man's new SUV that was still parked in the parking lot.

Eric Wright, one of the man's coworker, complained about the safety standards at the facility. "We have experienced numerous injuries over the past few years," he told KTVU. "We are sacrificing our lives for the production of the companies. The companies are not looking out for us at all."

Impact of the work stoppage would have a lingering effect for the rest of the week, officials said. "This means a massive back-up," said Brandon Taylor with GSC Logistics, a warehousing, distribution and transportation company at the port. "This means we can't pick up or take empties back - we're stuck and will definitely feel the ripple effect for at least a week."

The ripple effect will not only mean congested terminals when the port operations resume again Wednesday, but Tuesday's shut down will be felt in distribution centers in the San Joaquin Valley and elsewhere, where warehousing facilities continue to operate, Taylor said.

"They'll be able to unload containers today but they can't take them back empty," he said. Taylor said that although there was work to be done on the warehousing side, "We told everyone to park. There's nothing to do - we can unload freight but the empties will just sit in a yard."

International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union spokesman Craig Merrilees could not confirm any details about the death of the longshoreman, but said it is now an OSHA investigation. Merrilees said Monday's incident highlights how dangerous a longshoreman's job is. "Longshoring is a very dangerous occupation - perhaps too dangerous," Merrilees said. "Union members are very concerned about what happened yesterday. We want to take a step back and look at what happened, try to increase safety and make this kind of accident preventable."