Charleston 5 Interview:
South Carolina Dockers on the Frontline for Democracy and Jobs
Evelina Alarcon
People’s Weekly World
24 Mar 2001

LOS ANGELES
In January 2000, South Carolina’s Republican Attorney General Charles Condon turned the beginning of the century into a nightmare for union dockers at the Port of Charleston. The nightmare began when for the first time in 23 years, the Danish-owned Nordana shipping lines brought non-union labor to Charleston.

Then, Condon mobilized 600 state police in tanks and helicopters in response to an International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) picketline against Nordana. Charleston authorities had usually worked cooperatively with the ILA, but this time state police met the 125 dockers with barricades, rubber bullets, tear gas and clubs.

The police provocation ended in violence that resulted in injuries to the dockers, including ILA Local 1422 President Kenneth Riley. A policeman clubbed him on the head as he walked from the union hall to the picket line. Instead of apologies to Local 1422, the majority of whom are African-American, Condon charged five of the dockers with inciting a riot and trespassing.

One is charged with assaulting a police officer. The five have been living under house arrest awaiting trial for over a year now. They face up to five years in prison. Along with those charges have come civil suits from Winyah Stevedoring, Inc., the company that hired the non-union labor, asking for damages of $1.5 million from the two ILA locals, their presidents and 27 members, for alleged monetary losses it claims it suffered as a result of the dockers’ action.

In the interview that follows with Riley, Local 1422 Vice President Robert Ford and two of the Charleston 5, Peter Washington, Jr. and Elijah Ford, Jr., it becomes clear that powerful forces in South Carolina, a right-to-work (for less) state, are out to bust the union in the second largest port on the eastern seaboard. It is also connected to a bigger political picture.

Condon is an extremist with ties to the Bush administration, who last January established a policy of “open season” on home invaders right before announcing that he is running for governor. The New York Times reported that Condon is also known for his promotion of the use of an electric sofa, a metaphorical way to speed up executions, and prosecuting women for murder if their fetus died after they used illegal drugs.

The following interview took place during their visit to the San Francisco Bay Area where the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) - the West Coast longshore union - had organized many solidarity events. In Los Angeles, Riley addressed more than 1,000 members of ILWU Local 13, who voted to allocate $10 a month each to the defense fund, $40,000 a month in all.

A referendum vote on that will take place in April. At that same meeting, State Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Commission Chairman Richard Alarcon gave Riley a resolution, signed by himself and President pro tem John Burton, calling on Condon to drop the charges. Evelina Alarcon conducted this interview for the World.

Alarcon: Update us on your case.

Robert Ford: We have attorneys ready to appear. . . but until the attorney general sets the date for the trial we are at a standstill. We don’t think they are going to drop it. Charles Condon has made it public that he is going to run for governor and we don’t think that he is going to let this go. This is one of his priorities.

Alarcon: Why do you say it is one of his priorities?

Riley: One of the first statements Condon made after announcing his candidacy for governor is that unions are bad for the state of South Carolina and we must work to keep South Carolina union-free. So he has targeted unions. This is the same kind of thing he said immediately after the arrests of our members took place. He had all kinds of press coverage where he said, “The only answer to this is jail, jail and more jail.

Alarcon: What is Condon’s background? Is he connected to Bush?

Riley: You said it. He was George W. Bush’s campaign chairman in South Carolina. In a radio ad for Bush during the election, Condon supported Bush by throwing stones at our locals. He was also on Bush’s transition team. 

Alarcon: You forced Nordana to back off, but the state of South Carolina continues with their charges against you?

Washington: Yes, but it would have been worse had we lost the ship. If we lost this ship, then we would lose more vessels. I was just happy to be able to stand for our jobs. I feel as though our government is treating us real sad. We shouldn’t be in this predicament for fighting to stop a non-union company coming in to bar us from our work.

My wife and kids were bent out of shape [after my arrest] but time will heal that and we hope and pray that we will all be all right. This has not been easy. The kids at school started joking and laughing after my son about his dad being locked up, but I told him how he was able to go to school and live because of the ILA. My son, who is 14, had an incident with the assistant principal and the principal about wearing a jacket with the ILA logo on it.

They asked him, Do you know the meaning of this jacket?” He told them," This is how my dad makes a living for us. This all happened after the protest.

Elijah Ford: Sixty-five percent of my work is on [Nordana]. I make good payroll on that vessel. The way I feel about it is that we started picketing because every time they bring non-union labor that means that I am going to lose income for my family. You can’t let the shipping line get away with it. When we first went up there to the ship, they had a barricade across the way.

When I went back they had the news media. Then they said we could go no further. But they had removed the barricade and it wasn’t clear how far we could go. So we went up. They had tanks, riot gear. Riley: We had pledged that any time a [non-union] ship came in the port, we would be there. The port didn’t want any kind of bad publicity.

We think the port played a very important part in this, in that they work very closely with the state Chamber of Commerce and those who would like to see unions put out of business.

Matter of fact, the CEO of the Ports Authority is an executive board member of the South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce. The connection between the state chamber and the Republican Party is very close. The chamber would not hesitate to tell you that they are so powerful that they can write their own legislation. . . and naturally it is the Republican Party which pushes that agenda forward.

I think the more we get into this, the more you will see the connection. . . . Big business influence has taken over so much of South Carolina that it has actually swallowed up the interests of the mid- to small-size businesses. All the major corporations are who the Chamber is catering to. [They] felt so left out that they now formed a new Chamber of Commerce.

Alarcon: Your local was very active in defeating a Republican for governor, . . . to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol, in getting the state to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday as a holiday and in the labor movement. Do you think that there is a relationship between this and what is happening to your local?

Riley: If there is any issue that impacts the community or our families, we are going to have a position and play a part. Folks see us in that light. Many come to us and ask us to join their cause. They know we are a force in our state. As the ILA, we have clout. Our resources help to keep the union movement alive. Get the ILA and you have taken the fight out of the labor movement in South Carolina.

Robert Ford: We have support from the ministerial alliance, the state AFL-CIO, the Greater Charleston Central Labor Council, The Chronicle, the legislative Black Caucus - about 27 members, students are organizing at the college of Charleston, a teach-in was organized on our fight. In Atlanta, we recently held a meeting of over 30 organizations who are enthusiastic about supporting us.

Alarcon: Do you see your fight as both a labor and civil rights battle? 

Riley: It is so many issues tied up into one. They are actually discriminating against citizens and workers. Saying that unionists can’t serve on boards or commissions in South Carolina is a denial of our democratic and civil rights. They are denying us the right to picket. They are denying freedom of speech and assembly. This is a violation of our civil rights.

And, yes, we think there is racism in this. We are predominantly Black. If you looked at the entire makeup of all the maritime jobs in Charleston,65 percent to 68 percent are African American.

That’s longshore, port truckers, warehouse. For the most part, maritime-affiliated jobs are good paying jobs. The longshore jobs are the highest paying jobs for African Americans in South Carolina. If we lose our jobs it has bigger economic consequences for the whole community.

Alarcon: AFL-CIO President, John Sweeney, sent out a letter calling for support. Did it help?

Robert Ford: Yes, it was incredible. When Sweeney’s letter hit, a constant flow of mail started coming in everyday with donations and support. International Unions, State Federations, Labor Councils and locals from across the country have responded. New defense committees have formed.

Alarcon: What is the Day of International Solidarity with the Charleston 5?

Riley: It is the organizing of solidarity actions on the first day of the trial. [The ILWU] will participate in shutting down the ports on the West Coast. In Barcelona, Spain, we received the support of the International Dockers Council (IDC). They have pledged to shut down ports, do work stoppages or other acts of solidarity around the world.

There will be actions at ports in France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Chile and more. Alarcon: What is the IDC? Riley: The IDC are docker unions from around the world who came together to support the Liverpool dockworkers in their fight in 1995. Their philosophy is that wherever there are dockers facing problems, there should be a worldwide docker rapid response. That’s its purpose.

Alarcon: How are the lawsuits affecting your locals?

Riley: This is designed to send chills up every worker’s spine. If you are on a picket line, your family assets are now at risk. It costs us money every time we go to court to defend the 27 and the locals. We have spent $87,000 just on the civil suit. It is not just because of the damages in the suit itself. Depositions, preparation costs. They are trying to destroy the union.

Alarcon: How has the court curfew affected your lives? Washington: We cannot be outside of our homes before 7 a. m. and after 7 at night. We can only go to work or union meetings. When this first happened, it bothered me that the ship was still working non-union and members could go on the picket line but I couldn’t go. It is unfair.

The curfew means we can’t do things we want to do. If I have a 7 p. m. program at church, I can’t go. My son plays soccer and basketball. I can’t go. If they catch us out after 7 p. m. , they will lock us up until the trial. I can’t feed my family in jail. I can’t support them from there. It is a hurtful feeling.

Elijah Ford: After 7 p. m. we are locked up, we can’t leave. I work long hours on the job because I don’t like the feeling of being locked up. My wife and I used to go places together and now I can’t. My children want me to go places with them and I can’t.

Riley: We have two prominent defense attorneys who are trying to get the curfew lifted but the state just won’t do it. They also have travel restrictions. They had to get special release from the courts to be here in the Bay area.

There are expenses associated with all this. That’s why we need support. They are trying to bust us with the legal costs. But we are fighting. It’s not just about us; it’s about labor rights in our country and the world.

Robert Ford: With solidarity, it is all going to be good.