CHARLESTON's Hugh K Leatherman Terminal, which has been embroiled in a labour dispute since it opened in March 2021, has welcomed one vessel in the last 10 days; the neighboring Wando Welch Terminal has worked 23 vessels during that same period.
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) plans to demonstrate at the South Carolina state capital to send a message that it will keep fighting to gain jurisdiction over all work at a new Charleston marine terminals, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.
This is a policy the union intends to pursue at other terminal expansions, including in Savannah, in the neighbouring state of Georgia.
ILA Local 1422 in Charleston, with support of union members nationwide, is leading the protest against the state's and South Carolina Port Authority's (SCPA) use of non-union workers at the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, which opened in 2021.
"This is not just about Charleston," said Kenneth Riley, international vice president of the ILA. "When we negotiated this [current master contract] language, this was for the entire east coast. And that's where the word 'preservation' comes in and that's the point we were trying to argue with the Fourth Circuit (Court)."
That marks the ILA's first public acknowledgement of how it views expansion plans elsewhere, including at the Port of Savannah's Garden City and Ocean terminals and what it believes is its right to also have jurisdiction over all work at those facilities.
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) is investing US$1.15 billion to expand the Ocean Terminal, which handles containers and breakbulk cargo. GPA is also spending $260 million on upgrades to berth 1 at the Garden City Terminal, the largest marine terminal in North America.
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