5/06/04:The Port of Oakland's Director of Maritime, Jerry Bridges tried to force an agreement on Tuesday to get striking truck drivers back to work. It seems as if the Port of Oakland was trying so hard that they ended up releasing a press release announcing the agreement a little bit prematurely, the Oakland Tribune even ran a story saying that the truckers had already reached a deal. The press release announced an agreement between striking truck drivers and the Port of Oakland to create a committee " to address the serious economic issues facing the industry as well as other trucking issues in and around the Port of Oakland." The idea of the agreement seems like it was a really poor attempt at solving the issues at hand, and was mainly an attempt to get the truckers back to work to limit further longterm financial damage to the Port. A large number of workers voted the agreement down upon hearing about it, and told their representatives that they would not leave until they get what they want. Port authorities then claimed that the strike is chaotic, that the strikers have no leaders, and that they just need time to think about the offer before they "realize that their complaints will be heard and dealt with."

An estimated 2,000 truckers are on strike in the Oakland area alone. The strike began on Friday, April 30 with a temporary shutdown of highways in the L.A./Long Beach area.
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