Longshoreman's union supports protesters
Craig Merrilees, spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said its members were not being called to strike, but that they supported the protesters.
The members "are supporting the concerns raised by Occupy Oakland and the Occupy movement to speak up for the 99 per cent and against the corporate greed that is wrecking America," Merrilees said.
As protesters left the area on foot some stopped to burn money, others bickered, and one burned an American flag.
Zachary RunningWolf, a well-known Bay Area activist, said he burned the flag "to start an educated discussion among us."
The day's events in Oakland began with a rally outside City Hall that drew more than 3,000 people who spilled into the streets and disrupted the downtown commute. Protesters hung a large black banner that read: "Occupy Everything, DEATH TO CAPITALISM."
The crowd included students, families with young children and many people wearing labour union T-shirts. "Shut down the 1 per cent. We are the 99 per cent," they chanted.