Harbor trucker Andres “Andy” Garcia, owner of import drayage company GSC Logistics, died on June 24th.
Garcia, who was 72 years old, will be most recently remembered for his leadership role in opposing the Oakland A’s proposed condominium and baseball complex at the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal.
Garcia mobilized the forcefulness and eloquence of his Cuban-American heritage to advocate for enhancing and protecting harbor worker jobs from attack by real estate developers seeking to transform the Port of Oakland into a playground for the wealthy.
Garcia forged an alliance with stevedores, harbor truckers, freight forwarders and the African-American leadership of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10. Local 10 represents Port of Oakland longshore workers.
The coalition that Garcia helped build, along with his partner at GSC Logistics Scott Taylor, highlighted the divide between, on one hand, protecting harbor worker jobs and, on the other, siding with John Fisher, the Oakland A’s owner, who pursued a vision of a gentrified Oakland waterfront.