Riley addressed a crowd of nearly 200 at a union hall, explaining the background and context of the felony charges being leveled by the state against five union members. The frame-up charges of "inciting to riot" against the ILA members came in the wake of an assault on union picket lines by 600 cops in riot gear in January 2000. The pickets faced military helicopters, gunboats, police scuba divers, night-vision snipers, and canine, motorcycle, and horseback units.

During the attack, workers say state police in riot gear spewed racial epithets at them and badly wounded many, including union president Ken Riley. For 18 months, five of the workers have been under house arrest, unable to leave their homes from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. unless they are working. The response of the union has been to build worldwide support for the framed-up unionists, now known as the Charleston 5.

Riley was welcomed to Cleveland by Pam Rosado, political director of Service Employees International Union Local 47, which hosted the event. She explained that "an injury to one is an injury to all, and we are here to support our brothers in South Carolina." John Ryan, executive secretary of the Cleveland AFL-CIO, was present on the stage, and Warren Davis, director of region 2 of the United Auto Workers, noted to applause that "their fight is our fight and we're with them to the end."

Riley said that leading up to the cop attack, the union was engaged in a fight with the Danish shipping company, Nordana Line, which had begun using a nonunion stevedore company on the Charleston docks. The ILA reached out for support in the fight, he said, and pointed to the example of dockworkers in Spain who refused to service Nordana Line ships until the company met the demands of the Charleston longshoremen. After having its access to crucial Spanish ports threatened, the company "couldn't find us quick enough," recounted Riley.

Another example of international solidarity evident in this struggle is the promise of French dockworkers and others around the world to suspend work during the trial of the Charleston 5, scheduled for sometime this fall. "It just goes to show what international solidarity can do," Riley said. "We must be one unified workforce. As our corporate bosses go global, we have to, too. We have generations of gains to lose in this fight."

Riley encouraged other union members to come to Charleston for the trial as part of the political campaign demanding South Carolina's attorney general release the union militants immediately and drop the charges. The ILA has established a solidarity fund to help defend the union, which already faces $365,000 in legal fees alone. Participants in the meeting here contributed $3,331 on-the-spot for travel and other expenses.

Natalie Corvington is a student at Ohio State University; Eva Braiman is a meat packer and Socialist Workers candidate for mayor of Cleveland.  
 
 
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