Union seeks Biden admin's help in Charleston port dispute

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As port logjams across the country continue to constrain the U.S. supply chain, the union that represents dockworkers at South Carolina's ports tells The Associated Press it is calling on the Biden administration for help in a dispute related to a new shipping terminal.

But the chief executive in charge of the state's ports authority tells AP that the “hybrid” union-non-union employment model at the Port of Charleston “has worked to the benefit" of all employees.

At issue is the September decision of a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge, who ruled that the International Longshoremen's Association could not prevent shipping lines from calling on the new Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston.

The $1 billion first phase of the terminal, named for longtime state Sen. Hugh Leatherman, opened earlier this year and is operating at 35% of its current capacity. Under a contract reached with the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents shipping carriers, the union has claimed that only its members will be the ones to operate heavy-lift equipment, like cranes, at newly constructed terminals in the state, such as Leatherman.

Currently, those cranes are operated by State Ports Authority employees, not longshoremen.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/union-seeks-biden-admins-help-222751056.html