After Years of Long Labor Dispute, Charleston Port Terminal Announces Reopening

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the South Carolina Ports Authority (SC Ports) have reached an agreement to reopen the Port of Charleston shipping terminal, which has been closed for years due to a protracted labor dispute. The union's victory in court came months earlier.

The disagreement began when the port's Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal opened in 2021 and SC Ports hired non-union state employees to operate the cranes—a tactic they have already used at two other terminals. The ILA sued the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMA) for breaking the conditions of its master contract, which mandates that USMA ships must only dock at recently built terminals staffed by union dockworkers during the unloading process, shortly after USMA ships first arrived at the port. The USMA abruptly stopped making calls to the terminal, and it has been unoccupied ever since.

After a lower court ultimately sided with the ILA in the disagreement, SC Ports challenged the decision in the Supreme Court. The story came to an end on June 26 when SC Ports announced the agreement with the local ILA chapter to completely reopen the terminal, following the denial of that challenge in February. State employees working at the port will eventually have the option to join the ILA union in order to be able to staff the newer Leatherman Terminal upon its reopening, or continue working for the state as non-union employees at other terminals.