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South Carolina’s dockworkers began working ships at 8 a.m. Oct. 4 after suspending their strike that halted the state’s ports operations for three days.
Since the Oct. 1 walk-out, the S.C. Ports Authority has had four ships waiting at anchor that the agency said it is working through.
SPA was among the first ports to resume ship work and will extend Saturday gate hours at the Wando Welch, North Charleston and Hugh Leatherman terminals to make up for lost time.
The newly reopened Leatherman terminal – paused in operating after years of downtime from another labor issue – will help speed up the backlog.
At midnight Oct. 1, more than 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association – men and women who move the cargo on and off ships – walked out on their jobs at 36 U.S. ports. The move came after negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance fell apart. The two parties had a six-year contract that expired Sept. 30.
Three days later, the ILA and USMX struck a deal to suspend the strike for 90 days. Union workers returned to the docks Oct. 4 and will have 90 days to ratify the contract that includes a 61 percent raise in wages and no new automation for six years.
“We feel sure we’ll work this out before January,” Charles Brave Jr., president of Charleston’s ILA Local 1422, told The Post and Courier.
The SPA declined to comment.
Though the International Longshoremen Association’s strike was short-lived, the community threw itself into a panic within hours over the potential loss of goods and increased prices. Paper towels, toilet paper and water flew off the shelves at stores like Walmart, Costco and Publix.
Marquette Mapp, a longshoreman and member of the ILA’s contract board, understands the reaction, but said the strike was never intended to hurt the community.
“It’s not personal,” he said. “We do not harbor any bad feelings and want you to know that we’re looking forward to going back to work to make sure that the products have been put in place, like toilet tissue.”
Mapp let out a laugh, but nothing about the situation has been funny.
By striking, he and his fellow union workers at Locals 1777, 1422 and 1422A didn’t get paid for days.
“We’re being demonized and looked upon as villains because of what we’re standing up for and what we believe is right,” he said.
Longshoremen are no different than the auto and hotel industry workers and those in the AT&T union who have also gone on strike these last few months, he said.
“These are ordinary people just like us that are going through a struggle and they’re standing up for what they believe in,” Mapp said. “it was high time we did, too.”
Paying for the future
Negotiations on the union’s part have centered on fairer wages and no new automation in an era of artificial intelligence that could threaten current jobs.
The ILA originally wanted a 77 percent raise over the next six years, but the USMX offered 50 percent. The two met in the middle with a 60 percent increase, Brave confirmed.
“People hear a 70 percent raise, but that’s not necessarily money in our pocket,” Mapp said. “That’s retirement, our medical and what’s equivalent to our 401k. Things put in place to ensure that longshoremen are taken care of after they leave the docks.”
The carriers have the funds, Mapp said. In 2022, Swiss-owned Mediterranean Shipping Co. reported a record profit of $208 billion. Hong Kong-based OOCL reported a $10 billion net profit that same year, while French container line CMA CGM reported its net income rose to $24.9 billion in 2022, a 39 percent increase.
“We’ve never wavered on our commitment to do our job,” Mapp said. “It’s unfortunate that these foreign companies are coming in, using our labor, but they’re not willing to give us any of the profits or pay us fairly for what we do.”
Joris Manigault, a second-generation SPA longshoremen who followed in his father George’s footsteps, said he’s fighting for an industry that provided for him his whole life – the food on his table, shelter, medical insurance. It’s the same industry that will provide for his future family, too.
“My dad is the reason I’m here. He made the sacrifices back then to be able to allow me to do what I’m doing now,” Manigault said. “It’s only right that I give back to this industry that’s provided for me.”
Mapp reminds community members this fight has always been with the United States Maritime Alliance, who contracts with the carriers. It has nothing to do with the ports.
“This is probably one of the best relationships in my 23 years of being on the waterfront that we have had with the ports, especially with Leatherman reopening,” he said. “I hope that relationship will stay great when we’re back.”