Pacific Rim Report: America’s Pastime vs. America’s Future

As California’s two mega ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were struggling to accommodate an unprecedented surge of inbound cargo last month, many U.S. West Coast shippers were able to divert traffic to the Port of Oakland as a relief measure – thereby saving millions of dollars and keeping our economic recovery alive.

Asian factories, meanwhile, continue shipping goods in record numbers to replenish American store shelves and assembly lines. Furthermore, industry analysts say that retailers, manufacturers and e-commerce distributors may be expected to keep Oakland in their immediate plans.

Yet, a deeply troubling development may keep the port from winning over any new business in the long term.

The Oakland A’s continue with their quest to take over the Howard Street Terminal as a site for a New Oakland Athletics Baseball Stadium. Currently, the Howard Street Terminal is used to dock bulk cargo and smaller container vessels. It is also used to drop containers on trailers to allow long haul truckers to pick up their loads without having to wait in line at the port.

Opponents of the plan say that the impact of developing the property for commercial real estate is in direct conflict with the industrial port strategies and will ultimately drive maritime business away.

They only have to point to an example of this happening to the Port of San Francisco across the bay to make their argument heard. What was once a thriving cargo destination has been relegated to a “niche” port, chiefly known for its modest cruise business and other recreational enterprises.

But is anyone listening?

The project’s long-awaited draft environmental impact report was shared with the public, and the period for comment will soon come to an end. It is worth noting, however, that immediately before the A’s home opener, members of the Oakland East Bay Democratic Club and the East Oakland Stadium Alliance held a rally protesting the team’s proposed move to the terminal. Participants also included the International Longshoreman Workers Union Local 10, and independent truckers

The A’s continue to face widespread opposition from dockside labor to the proposed ballpark that will potentially displace the tens of thousands of career union jobs at the working waterfront and bring extensive noise, traffic, pedestrian safety hazards, and negative air quality impacts to the West Oakland community.

The coalition urged the City to oppose the Howard Terminal development and encourage the A’s to stay and rebuild at the current Coliseum site which is already zoned for sports and entertainment, has access to transit, and would receive a relatively fast public approval process for a newly-designed ballpark that would benefit the East Oakland community.

The ILWU observes that the A’s have yet to release any economic information including expected impacts on existing port employment or the amount of public subsidy they will need to realize their vision for a massive luxury commercial real estate development in the middle of the working waterfront.

“We’re left to wonder about the value of 80 home games vs. over 80,000 career union job,” spokesmen add.

Nevertheless, the City is moving forward with approving the complex at a time when the port has attracted it first port of call ocean carrier service from Asia with CMA- CGM; is the only the third port in the United States to handle 18,000 TEU mega-container ships; and is installing new mega-container ship-to-shore cranes at the Oakland International Container Terminal built in China by ZPMC.

As Yogi Berra would say, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going…because you might not get there.”

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