Hundreds of schoolteachers, students and longshore workers raised their voices and protest signs in unison at a Thursday rally in front of Oakland City Hall, vowing to help each other in their respective battles.
The rally came just hours before the Oakland City Council was scheduled to consider an environmental impact report that would bring the Oakland A’s a step closer to building a new stadium and waterfront development at Howard Terminal near Jack London Square.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents crane operators and other workers at the Port of Oakland, opposes the plan, which it says would lead to the ruination of the port — and their jobs.
The noon rally brought together more than 200 ILWU members along with members of the Oakland Education Association and some students and parents. They gathered in the Frank Ogawa Plaza amphitheater — in front of a banner reading “Stop privatizing our schools, our port” — and pledged solidarity in their fights.