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Court rules dockers' union can sue employer group over port jobs
来源：shippingazette 编辑：编辑部 发布：2023/08/02 09:03:20
THE International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), the dockers union, is within its rights suing United States Maritime Alliance (USMA), the employers' group, for employing non-union workers, according to a divided federal appeals court ruling, Reuters reports.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2-1 vote upheld a National Labour Relations Board ruling by holding that the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) was not engaged in an unfair labour practice when it sued the USMA.
Chief US Circuit Judge Albert Diaz, writing for the majority, rejected an argument by the South Carolina Ports Authority, which operates the disputed terminal and brought a complaint against the ILA with the NLRB, that the union had illegally coerced the Maritime Alliance into a boycott in order to get more work for its members.
"We are disappointed in the 4th Circuit's majority opinion," said port authority president Barbara Melvin. "We are reviewing the opinion and weighing all options for appeal."
The NLRB and lawyers for the union and the Maritime Alliance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The dispute goes back to 2020, when the ports authority announced it would open the new Hugh Leatherman terminal in Charleston using non-union state employees as lift operators and ILA members for other work.
The port authority already uses this hybrid worker model for two other Charleston terminals.
When USMA ships docked at the new terminal, the ILA sued the organisation, saying it had violated its collective bargaining agreement with the union.
That agreement generally requires USMA ships to dock at ports on the east coast that employ ILA workers for all unloading, though it acknowledges that a handful of ports use a hybrid model.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2-1 vote upheld a National Labour Relations Board ruling by holding that the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) was not engaged in an unfair labour practice when it sued the USMA.
Chief US Circuit Judge Albert Diaz, writing for the majority, rejected an argument by the South Carolina Ports Authority, which operates the disputed terminal and brought a complaint against the ILA with the NLRB, that the union had illegally coerced the Maritime Alliance into a boycott in order to get more work for its members.
"We are disappointed in the 4th Circuit's majority opinion," said port authority president Barbara Melvin. "We are reviewing the opinion and weighing all options for appeal."
The NLRB and lawyers for the union and the Maritime Alliance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The dispute goes back to 2020, when the ports authority announced it would open the new Hugh Leatherman terminal in Charleston using non-union state employees as lift operators and ILA members for other work.
The port authority already uses this hybrid worker model for two other Charleston terminals.
When USMA ships docked at the new terminal, the ILA sued the organisation, saying it had violated its collective bargaining agreement with the union.
That agreement generally requires USMA ships to dock at ports on the east coast that employ ILA workers for all unloading, though it acknowledges that a handful of ports use a hybrid model.