The goal of the West Coast Port Shutdown, a grassroots movement, was to bring public attention to the plight of port employees by closing ports along the West Coast of the United States. Workers on the docks, along with activists and members of the local community, spearheaded the campaign in an effort to improve working conditions, pay, and respect.

The West Coast Port Shutdown movement was an organized effort to disrupt trade and challenge the corporate control of the ports through a variety of demonstrations, strikes, and direct actions. The demonstrations at Occupy Wall Street, along with the wider movement for economic and social justice, served as inspiration for the movement.

The West Coast Port Shutdown was an effort to unite employees and communities along the West Coast around a shared belief in the efficacy of concerted, nonviolent action to effect positive change. The movement’s goal in closing the ports was to demonstrate that working people and other disadvantaged groups would no longer accept being exploited or mistreated by those in authority.

Although the West Coast Port Shutdown movement is inactive at the present time, its legacy lives on in the continuing battles for workers’ rights, economic justice, and social change.