Labor rift deepens between Republican governor and dockworkers in South Carolina

By JAMES POLLARD
Associated Press/Report for America

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dockworkers and the Republican governor in South Carolina are digging in their heels over a labor dispute that has left the newest container terminal at the East Coast’s deepest harbor largely inactive. Pending before a federal appeals court is a National Labor Relations Board decision that upheld unionized dockworkers’ right to exclusively staff the cranes at the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal in Charleston under a 2012 master contract. The alternative is a so-called hybrid model where loading operations would be fulfilled by state and union employees. Over 300 workers, allies and labor leaders rallied at the state capitol on Wednesday while Gov. Henry McMaster vowed to support an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if the union wins.