Today’s The State ran a letter from Ken Riley, president of the International Longshoremen Association in Charleston (not vice-president; The State got it wrong) and longtime member of the SC Progressive Network. The letter is a response to the guest editorial the paper ran last month by Carroll Campbell III, in which he fans fear of unions.

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In his Feb. 29 column, Carroll Campbell III made it clear that he is dead-set against economic growth in South Carolina.

Some of the world’s most important maritime companies seek to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in our state to develop private shipping terminals. They believe that a huge investment of private capital (and not of taxpayers’ dollars) is needed to keep South Carolina competitive. And they want to employ more South Carolinians to man these ports. Private investment is indispensable, and without it, our state’s maritime industry will founder.

Mr. Campbell believes that private shipping terminals are dangerous to our state. Why is he against private enterprise, job creation, keeping pace with our neighboring states and loosening government restrictions on industry? His excuse: Private ports mean more union jobs.

Mr. Campbell’s counter-productive reasoning is based on “What if?” scenarios. But the businesses that operate in the port on a daily basis rely on “What is?” These businesses know our track record, and they see it projected on their profit statements, year after year.

The longshoremen have operated as a union in Charleston since 1869. Over these 139 years, the union has worked tirelessly to attract and keep business in South Carolina. The companies that actually employ union longshoremen want to employ more of us.

Whether one likes union labor or not, it is a fact of life in the global maritime industry. Virtually all major ports and virtually all major shipping companies and maritime employers rely on organized labor. The arrangement between labor and management is extremely efficient and cooperative, in large part because workers are hired on an as-needed basis.

It is Mr. Campbell’s hysteria that is the real danger to our economy. Hundreds of millions of dollars of private capital are being redirected to neighboring states (that use union workers). Workers want privatization, the businesses that employ them want privatization, the shippers want privatization, and only a few special-interest consultants such as Mr. Campbell want to hold our state back. While Mr. Campbell relies on his consulting fees for his income, longshoremen, shipping lines, stevedoring companies and so many other businesses rely on ships at the dock. No ships, no dollars. Who has a greater interest in keeping our ports busy?

The state should allow private companies to invest in and operate their own terminals, just like they do all over the country and all over the world. If they build them, the ships will come, in fleets.

Ken Riley,
Vice-president, [sic] International Longshoremen Association
Charleston