A court order against the International Longshoremen’s Association is unfair, said church leaders and two state lawmakers, who hinted at a emotional rally Monday that the community might join the fight.
The rally came in the wake of a Jan. 20 waterfront riot and a judge’s order last week limiting the number of picketing longshoremen to 19 in any future protests.
“The judge said 19 union members. He didn’t say anything about these other people,” state Sen. McKinley Washington said to about 400 people who filled the ILA’s headquarters on Morrison Drive in Charleston on Monday.
The rally, organized by state Sen. Robert Ford, garnered community and church support of the longshoremen’s struggle to maintain their status at Charleston’s port.
It was unclear Monday night whether the group intended to protest when the next Nordana Line vessel arrives in Charleston, as soon as today. Longshoremen are upset that Nordana recently switched to a non-union stevedore to load and unload its ships.
Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis said he did not know if a city permit to protest had been requested.
“We’re going to stand up for this because we believe it’s right,” said the Rev. Robert Woods, president of the local Southern Christian Leadership Conference. EL Woods said supporters would have to be willing to go to jail if necessary.
Ford coordinated the rally in an attempt to counter the “negative press” union members got after the Jan. 20 riot, where eight longshoremen were arrested and later charged with inciting a riot.
Other speakers at the rally were the Rev. A.R. Blake of Morris Street Baptist Church; the Rev. Willis T. Goodwin of New Francis Brown United Methodist Church and the Rev. Edward McClain of Calvary AME Church. Washington said he has fought the state’s right-to-work legislation for many years. He said this law benefits employers and lets companies pay substandard wages.
“This is not a union fight. This is a fight for all of us,” Washington told the crowd.
Local union President Kenneth Riley Jr. said the protest is not about keeping a union. “This whole thing is about an industry standard.”
The longshoremen fear that foreign workers will take their jobs and threaten their livelihood.
Riley said last month’s riot was sparked by the presence of 600 police officers dressed in riot gear.
He said protests of three other Nordana vessels were held before the incident of Jan. 20. “This was the fourth vessel. The first three, there was not one incidence of violence,” Riley said.
On Jan. 3, however, two non-union workers said they were assaulted when 75 ILA protesters stormed through the Columbus Street terminal. No arrests were made.
State Ports Authority spokeswoman Anne Moise said there is no disagreement between the port and the longshoremen.
“It’s between the longshoremen and the steamship line,” she said, noting that South Carolina is a right-to-work state, and the Ports Authority must enforce that.
