Greens Demand Dismissal of
Charges Against the "Charleston 5."
Union-busting tactics, a military-style police assault, and trumped-up
charges used to suppress African American dockworkers in South Carolina.
WASHINGTON,
D.C. -- The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) endorsed a
resolution in support of the "Charleston 5," dockworkers and
members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), who face
spurious charges of "rioting" after the state of South Carolina
ordered a police assault against a legitimate union protest in Charleston.
ASGP issues the resolution, which is appended below, in response to a call
to action by the ILA and the Black Radical Congress (BRC).
The Charleston
5 are members of the ILA Locals 1422, which is 99% African American, and
1771 who face charges of felony assault and imprisonment for up to five
years, after the state of South Carolina unleashed a police assault on
dockworkers picketing to oppose scab labor in Charleston.
Nordana Lines,
a shipping company, announced on October 1, 1999 that it would convert to
non-union labor on ships in Charleston, after 23 years of using ILA
workers. The union responded with picket lines. The state sent about 600
riot-equipped police in armored vehicles, on horseback, and in helicopters
and patrol boats, and commenced a violent assault on the picketers. Five
workers now face charges of "inciting to riot" and are under
house arrest.
According to
Frances M. Beal of BRC, "In the case of these dockworkers, the State
of South Carolina is going even further to rein in black political power.
There is state legislation pending to inhibit the right of unions to
collect dues from their members, and separate legislation to prohibit any
union member from being appointed to any board, agency or commission in
the state of South Carolina.... 'The Attorney General is planning to run
for governor next time around and he's trying to make a name for himself,'
said South Carolina AFL-CIO President Donna Dewitt. 'I think he plans to
make himself a name at the expense of these five guys.'" ("Black
Labor Rights on Trial in South Carolina," Black Radical Chronicles,
April 23, 2001).
The police
assault displayed military tactics, in which urban police forces were
trained on order from President Clinton in the mid-90s. The same tactics
were used to suppress dissent in Seattle in 1999 at the WTO protests, in
2000 in Washington, DC at the World Bank/IMF protests, and in Philadelphia
and Los Angeles during the Republican and Democratic Party conventions.
Nordana Lines
later negotiated an agreement with ILA, but WSI, the company that hired
the nonunion workers, has continued its lawsuit against the two union
locals and their presidents.
According to
BRC, "the police arrested eight longshore workers on charges of
misdemeanor trespassing. At this point State Attorney General Charlie
Condon rushed in, took the case away from local law enforcement officials,
and raised the misdemeanor charges to felony rioting charges. At a
preliminary hearing a judge dismissed the felony charges for lack of
evidence, but Condon then went to the Grand Jury and sought and obtained
indictments against five of the defendants, on the same charges that had
just been dismissed."
BRC also
documents how state officials used the assault against the dockworkers'
union to suppress political participation by black working people, quoting
Ken Riley, president of Local 1422: "These longshore jobs are the
only jobs in South Carolina where a black can really move up from below
poverty to a middle class standard of living in a short time if he comes
out and applies himself.... Our problems began when we started getting
involved in state politics." The incident took place about the same
time as 47,000 people rallied in demand that the Confederate flag be
removed from the state capitol.
Mr. Riley
himself had been nominated to the State Ports Authority, but the South
Carolina Manufacturing Alliance and the state Chamber of Commerce
pressured the governor into withdrawing his name. BRC notes that
"Republican state legislators then introduced a bill -- dubbed the
Kenneth Riley Bill -- prohibiting union members from serving on state
boards and commissions. Its proponents touted it as a way to reduce
union influence in state politics -- in a state where only 3.8 percent of
the workers are in unions. The bill passed the House, but was killed in
the state Senate."
STATEMENT OF
SUPPORT FROM ASGP:
"The
Association of State Green Parties supports the International
Longshoremen's Association (ILA), AFL-CIO, and the Black Radical Congress
(BRC) in demanding dismissal of charges leveled against the Charleston 5,
dockworkers who face felony charges for "rioting" in the wake of
a military-style police assault ordered by the state of South Carolina to
break up a union protest against union-busting and the use of scab labor
in the Charleston shipping industry.
"We demand
that the suit brought by Winyah Stevedoring Inc. (WSI), the company that
hired the nonunion workers, against the two union locals and their
presidents be dropped or dismissed.
"We demand
that the state of South Carolina not support plans by WSI, Nordana, or any
other company to break the power of the ILA or any other union, and that
it cease using police power to suppress union protest.
"We
support the right of workers to organize and bargain with employers, to
protest peacefully against unfair practices, full rights to political
participation, and the right to a decent standard of living for African
Americans, for other people of color, and for all working people and poor
people in South Carolina and throughout the U.S.
"We
endorse the announced march on Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, on
June 9 to demand that the state drop the criminal charges against the
Charleston 5 and that WSI drop the civil lawsuit against both locals and
their members, and we endorse the call by the International Longshore and
Warehouse Union for a day of solidarity with the Charleston 5."
MORE
INFORMATION:
International Longshoremen's Association
http://www.ilwu.org/main.htm
The Black Radical Congress
http://www.blackradicalcongress.org
search:
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