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AFL-CIO General Executive Council
Action
August 1, 2001 Chicago, Illinois
Justice for the Charleston 5
Equal justice is a cornerstone of our democracy. Although that sacred
principle has often been threatened in our nation's history, it has
faced its most profound challenge in the Old South. Over the last
decade, leaders of the "New South" have tried to put a more
mainstream face of fairness on the social and political institutions of
the region. But an egregious miscarriage of justice in South Carolina
threatens to turn back the clock on progress on workers' rights and
racial justice in the South and across the nation.
Five dockworkers who are members of International Longshoremen's
Association Locals 1422 and 1771 face criminal charges for attempting to
defend their jobs. All five--Kenneth Jefferson, Peter Washington, Ricky
Simmons, Jason Edgerton, and Elijah Ford--are victims of selective
prosecution by South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon, a
candidate for governor, who is using race and anti-labor sentiment to
attack one of the most visible and active unions in South Carolina while
furthering his political ambitions. Four of the dockworkers are members
of ILA Local 1422, which is virtually all- black.
The prosecution of the union dockworkers, known as the Charleston 5,
stems from an incident that occurred on January 20, 2000, when
approximately 150 members of Local 1422 carried out a legal
informational picket at the Port of Charleston to protest the use of a
non-union stevedoring company to unload a Danish freighter. An encounter
with 600 riot police during the picketing ended in a clash where a
policeman clubbed Local 1422 President Ken Riley on the head while he
attempted to restore order.
Eight of the dockworkers received mainly misdemeanor trespass charges
from local Charleston law enforcement authorities in connection with the
incident. But Attorney General Condon, who has demonstrated his
hostility to unions on numerous occasions, intervened and raised the
charges to rioting and conspiracy to riot, which are felonies and carry
prison sentences. A Charleston judge dismissed these charges for lack of
evidence in a preliminary hearing. Nevertheless, Condon sought
felony indictments against the men through a secret grand jury in
Charleston. Although it is implausible that these unarmed union members
planned to riot against 600 heavily armed police officers in full riot
gear, five of the dockworkers were indicted.
Despite the fact that they have not been convicted of any crime, the
Charleston 5 have already been severely punished. For nearly a year-
and-a-half, they have been confined to house arrest from 7:00 p.m. to
7:00 a.m., allowed only to go to work or attend union meetings. The
impact of the house arrest has been devastating, not only for the
dockworkers, but for their families as well. The Charleston 5 face trial
in September, and they could receive prison terms of up to five years.
The AFL-CIO stands squarely behind the International Longshoremen's
Association and the South Carolina AFL-CIO, which have taken the lead in
the fight for the dockworkers. This summer, union activists and leaders,
including AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez- Thompson,
joined together with South Carolina community and union leaders for a
rally of more than 7,000 in Columbia, South Carolina, to support the
Charleston 5.
The American labor movement demands that Attorney General Condon and the
law enforcement authorities of South Carolina drop the charges against
the Charleston 5. These charges are unreasonable, excessive, and unjust.
We welcome the support of allies from among civil rights, religious, and
community-based organizations, as well as support committees that are
forming in cities from New York to Los Angeles. The AFL-CIO is proud to
take a leadership role in the fight for the Charleston 5. We will
wage and escalate this fight until they are
free and justice is done.
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