May Day rally fails to block tech bus in Oakland

May Day protesters gather at the tech bus stop at MacArthur BART to attempt to block the tech commute on May 1, 2015. May Day protesters gather at the tech bus stop at MacArthur BART to attempt to block the tech commute on May 1, 2015. Photo: Jessica Christian, The Chronicle Photo: Jessica Christian, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 50 Caption Close May Day rally fails to block tech bus in Oakland 1 / 50 Back to Gallery

The sole tech shuttle that showed up at an Oakland protest intended to blockade them rolled away unhindered after picking up a single passenger.

About two dozen protesters gathered at MacArthur station on Friday morning, hoping to block the private buses that carry tech workers from Oakland to the campuses of Google, Facebook and Yahoo — a May Day rallying cry against gentrification and the impact of tech industry wealth on the Bay Area.

“It’s our day to shut it down,” said protester Rhonesha Victor, a 25-year-old student and Oakland native. “The big company CEOs don’t care about the workers.”

But when the lone bus pulled up at 7:40 a.m., it stopped across the street from protesters and left before they could assemble. Other buses were either rerouted or cancelled in anticipation of the protest.

Onlookers and media outnumbered the demonstrators, who for the most part stood solemnly under the highway holding signs with messages such as “Die Techie Scum” and “Your Friend Request Has Been Denied.” A few passing cars honked in support. A plan to swarm the entrance of the BART station was never realized.

Cleo, a protest organizer who would not give her full name, grabbed a megaphone and told the crowd she was there to send “a clear message that I don’t want the tech industry here. I want them to leave.”

Since protests of tech shuttle buses began more than a year ago, protestors have been careful to maintain that they are not so much “anti-tech” as against the impact of the industry, even while blocking shuttle buses and carrying signs lambasting companies such as Google and Facebook.

But a flier posted on Facebook for Friday’s protest clearly stated that tech industry “colonizers” “are not welcome.”

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By 9 a.m., with no more tech buses in sight, the protest had disbanded.

The protest, Cleo said, should be considered a success even if they did not actually block any buses.

Andre San-Chez, a 26-year-old Oakland actor, seemed to disagree with some of the messaging.

“This is not about tech workers. It’s about the impact of the industry and its higher-ups,” he said.

San-Chez said he had come out to protest in hopes of starting a dialogue with tech workers and raising awareness about the impact industry wealth is having on Oakland.

“It takes open minds,” he said. “Not only on their part, but on our part as well.”

Kristen V. Brown is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kbrown@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @kristenvbrown