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| Teamster organizers monitor grill and assist occupiers alongside Alameda City firefighters |
The Day of Solidarity Action in Oakland drew thousands for what was largely a happy, peaceful protest against corporate greed. It was hard to tell how many Teamsters swarmed onto Frank Ogawa Plaza, but we know our brothers and sisters from Locals 70, 315, 439, 853 and 856 were there.
Our friends in the mainstream media
of course played up the tensions that emerged later in the evening. Small groups of provocateurs caused some trouble, and protesters tried to stop them, according to The Oakland Tribune:
As marchers approached the Whole Foods Market near Lake Merritt, a small group of people in black infiltrated the group, smashing the windows and throwing paint at the store.
Other demonstrators who had marched to Whole Foods enveloped the agitators, forcing them to stop. Fist-fights broke out. No one went inside; the store closed before the crowd arrived.
After the incident, the crowd continued to move down Grand Avenue. Protesters on Twitter appear to be trying to find the people responsible for the vandalism.
The Tribune also reported:
Meanwhile, the crowd at Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza remained festive into the evening, with people dancing in the streets. There was no "General Assembly" - the nightly meeting held by Occupy Oakland organizers - because so many people remained at the Port of Oakland. Members of the Alameda Labor Council served free hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie dogs and veggie burgers to a ravenous crowd and had given away more than 4,000 meals by 8 p.m. Firefighters from the City of Alameda with Alameda Local 689 worked the massive charcoal grills while other volunteers began picking up the mountains of trash overflowing garbage bins.
"It's been exciting. There's been great energy all day," said Josie Camacho, secretary treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council. "We have health care workers from Placer County here volunteering."
One California friend watched it on livestream and observed:
Most of those folks a month ago couldn't find a union office if you gave them Google and typed in "union." But they're learning.
Not only that , but a lot of others are at home cheering them on, and yesterday came out to throw their body weight into the mix. A young couple I know went to Ogawa Plaza yesterday with their 19-month old ...
Yesterday things went from a sleepy tent camp to a street-commanding movement over a period of six hours.
Each move gives people courage to take another.
Our friends in the mainstream media of course played up the tensions that emerged later in the evening. Small groups of provocateurs caused some trouble, and protesters tried to stop them, according to The Oakland Tribune:
