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GREENS DEMAND DISMISSAL OF CHARGES AGAINST THE
CHARLESTON 5
THE ASSOCIATION OF STATE GREEN PARTIES
MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release:
Wednesday, June 13, 2001
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
"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."
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