OAKLAND, Calif (Reuters) ? Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of downtown Oakland on Wednesday at the start of what they called a general strike to protest economic conditions and police brutality in the city.
But despite calls by protest organizers to "shut down" the Bay Area city, commerce appeared to largely carry on as usual at the start of the day, with most businesses remaining open and workers going to their jobs.
"I don't really feel striking is necessary. I work for a small company, I don't work for Bank of America," said Rebecca Leung, 33, who was headed to her job at an architectural lighting sales company.
Leung, however, said she did generally support the theme of the protests and would check them out during her lunch break.
The protesters filled the intersection of 14th street and Broadway in downtown Oakland, where last week marchers clashed with police.
It was at that intersection that former Marine Scott Olsen suffered a head injury, becoming a rallying point for the protests.
Protest organizers say Olsen, 24, was struck by a tear gas canister fired by police.
Acting Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan has opened an investigation into the incident but has not said how he believes Olsen was wounded.
"We stand in defense of Scott Olsen and in memory of Oscar Grant," Angela Davis, a radical leader prominent in the 1960s and '70s, told the crowd on Wednesday.
Grant, 22, was shot to death on an Oakland train platform on New Year's Day in 2009 by a policeman who said he mistakenly drew his gun instead of his Taser during a scuffle.
The strike aims to disrupt commerce, with a special focus on banks and other symbols of corporate America. Protesters will also try to shut the city's port, one of the nation's largest, in the late afternoon.
Local labor leaders, although generally sympathetic to the Occupy movement, say their contracts prohibit them from proclaiming an official strike.
City officials said government offices are scheduled to be open.
(Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Jerry Norton)
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