A debilitating cargo backlog at the Port of Oakland is entering its second month, leaving customers waiting weeks for their orders and truckers idling for up to seven hours for containers to transport.
The port and the longshoremen’s union disagree over what caused the cargo gridlock.
ILWU Local 10 President Mike Villeggiante laid the blame squarely on SSA, which last month took control of the affected terminal complex. He said the company took two berths out of operation at a time when cargo volumes have increased.
“It has nothing to do with labor,” he said. “They’re trying to move a lot of cargo from one area, and it just isn’t functioning.”