Port of Oakland gets slow start to resuming work

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The Port of Oakland was back in business Monday, albeit slowly.

The Pacific Maritime Association and the longshoremen announced they had a deal Friday and people are working at the port Monday, but things are moving a lot slower than everyone hoped.

Finally, the waiting game is over for thousands of truckers who have have seen their work, their livelihoods sit idle while the labor dispute at West Coast ports slowly worked itself out.

In Oakland, the restart hasn't been without its hitches. Sunday, longshoremen were sent home when they began taking their breaks 30 workers at a time.

On Monday there was a shortage of crane operators.

"There are full operations at the container yards and at the terminal gates," said Mike Zampa, spokesperson for for the Port of Oakland. "There is limited loading and unloading of vessels this morning. We're anticipating full operation in all phases of terminal activity on the night shift, beginning at 7 this evening."

Any movement at the Port of Oakland is seen as a positive sign after weeks of mostly inaction.

Bill Aboudi owns AB Trucking. He says all the mixed messages are frustrating.

"So the emails that are coming to us are saying everything is fine, but when we try to pick up our containers, they're not available," Aboudi said.

Even with activity resuming, the backlog at the Port of Oakland could take weeks or months to fully resolve.