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THE US east and Gulf dockers union can sue ocean carriers that call at the Port of Charleston's Hugh K Leatherman terminal because contracts with carriers say union labour must unload ships, according to the regulatory National Labour Relations Board (NLRB).
The NLRB determined that such a lawsuit brought by the dockers' union, the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) does not constitute an illegal industrial action as some allege, reports New York's Journal of Commece.
In a 2-1 decision issued recently, the NLRB overturned an administrative law judge's earlier decision that upheld unfair labour practice complaints that the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) filed against the ILA when it sued Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL after their ships berthed at the Leatherman terminal following its opening in April 2021.
The SCSPA and USMX argued that the ILA's lawsuit was a secondary boycott that sought to force Charleston to employ union workers on the lift equipment at the Leatherman terminal, rather than non-union state employees as is done at Charleston's other terminals.
The NLRB decision said the union's contract with maritime employers allowed the ILA to preserve work that has been agreed to in its master contract with the USMX, even if that action could affect Leatherman.
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