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The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the union in its fight for jobs at Leatherman terminal

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - As the U.S. Supreme Court decides if it will hear arguments in the ongoing dispute over 270 South Carolina port jobs and a $1.5 million port, several lawmakers and organizations are weighing in and urging the court to take up the case.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation on Friday filed an amicus brief in support of overturning the ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that sided with the International Longshoreman’s Association allowing them to fill every role at the $1.5 billion facility.

South Carolina has long run on a hybrid model that allows state employees to operate the cranes at state port facilities while other jobs are filled by union workers.

The NRWF in the brief argues that handing the crane jobs to the union would have continued consequences beyond the initial job loss of the state employees and violates secondary boycott rules.

They argue that even if the state employees were to join a contractor with a union contract those employees would be passed over in favor of union members with longer seniority.

The labor dispute began when the ILA sued the United States Maritime Alliance for sending shipping lines to Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal shortly after the completion of its first phase two years ago. The union alleged the move violated the terms of a master contract prohibiting the use of newly constructed terminals where ILA dockworkers do not perform all unloading tasks.

For years, the ILA union held master contracts with major shipping companies along the coast and those contracts are updated over time. The most recent contract states that at any newly-opened port, unless all the jobs from the ship to the gate are performed by union members, the shipping companies will not use the new port. That’s what’s been happening at the Hugh Leatherman terminal since it opened.

Shipping line containers subsequently called off. The South Carolina State Ports Authority viewed the move as an illegal strong-arm tactic to grab new lines of work and argued a solely unionized staff would increase operational costs. The state favored a narrow definition of the jobs entitled to ILA members that excluded “lift-equipment jobs” like cranes operation.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit endorsed a broader definition. Two of the three judges affirmed the National Labor Relations Board’s conclusion that “work” involved “the loading and unloading generally at East and Gulf Coast ports.”

The South Carolina Ports Association has called the practice a violation of secondary boycott laws. Because of the threat of lawsuits from the ILA, U.S. Maritime Association carriers will not use Leatherman.

“In their effort to maintain and expand their stranglehold on port employment all across the East Coast, ILA union bosses are putting the livelihoods of hundreds of Leatherman employees in jeopardy – employees who work side-by-side with unionized workers at Leatherman and have done nothing wrong,” National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix said. “The Supreme Court must reverse the Biden NLRB’s erroneous ruling letting this union gambit move forward, bearing in mind that the real victims here are the nonunion port workers whose jobs ILA officials want to seize.”

The nonprofit isn’t the only one to fill a brief in support of overturning the ruling.

Gov. Henry McMaster and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp filed a brief in support of the SCSPA arguing the appellate court’s decision expanded the scope of the work-preservation doctrine beyond what was allowed under the National Labor Relations Act.

“The Leatherman Terminal is a state-of-the-art facility and a critical part of South Carolina’s economic-development portfolio and continued competitive advantage,” McMaster said. “I will not stand idly by and allow unions and their unlawful boycotts to hold our State’s resources, jobs, and supply chain hostage as out-of-state labor bosses seek to advance their own interests at the expense of state employees. South Carolinians have worked hard to earn our prosperity, and we must continue to preserve it and enhance it, not bargain it away under threats of labor union boycotts and coercive pressure campaigns. Particularly at a time when the Southeast is leading the nation in both population and job growth, I appreciate Governor Kemp joining me in this fight to maintain and advance our States’ shared interests in protecting our ports and enhancing our regional supply chain.”

“The Fourth Circuit’s decision creates a roadmap for unions to erode the equal dignity and sovereignty of the States,” the governors argue.

Ultimately, the decision will also impact Georgia’s Port of Savannah and North Carolina’s Port of Wilmington which both operate under hybrid models.

“The success of the Georgia Ports Authority speaks for itself, with the ports supporting hundreds of thousands of Georgia jobs and billions of dollars in revenues statewide,” Brian Kemp said. “To continue that momentum, it’s essential the port retains the authority to decide the appropriate operating model that secures long-term performance and benefits the consumer. By taking this action alongside our partners in South Carolina, we aim to support the future prosperity of our ports and the role of GPA in shaping that future.”

The brief argues that the Fourth Circuit’s decision undermines the pro-competitive principles that the NLRA was designed to protect and that the decision has allowed unions to use their power to harm businesses that are not unionized.

That argument was reiterated by South Carolina’s senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott who also filed an amicus brief asking the court to take up the case.

“There is no doubting this case’s importance,” Graham and Scott said. “It is important for the people of South Carolina. It is important to ensure consistent application of the law nationwide. And it is important to vindicate the federal constitutional structure, so that the People remain governed by a nation of laws, rather than ruled by administrative fiat.”

The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance said port choice is a decision that’s made based on the contents of a container, shipping routes, access to inland shipping and final destination.

“The Fourth Circuit’s coastwide view of the work caused it to treat containers of cargo as fungible, without regard to the contents of the particular containers,” the alliance said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers said the court’s decision “blurs the critical line between work preservation and acquisition.”

“The result of this conflation will be to dramatically increase the range of circumstances when unions are allowed to engage in pressure campaigns—wielding them not as a shield to preserve their own jobs, but as a sword to take away the jobs of non-union employees,” court documents state.

The groups argue the “consequences for the law and the national economy would be dire” should the court uphold the Fourth Circuit’s decision.

They argue that the Fourth Circuit misapplied the precedents used when they ruled in favor of the union.

A response from the government’s original deadline has since been extended to Nov. 29.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

As we enter the holidays, we remember the story of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Just as the Grinch didn’t like seeing people enjoy Christmas, unions don’t like seeing a low union participation state like South Carolina enjoy economic success.

South Carolina has become a manufacturing powerhouse.

Despite being so small geographically, the Palmetto State is home to more than 6,000 manufacturing facilities employing more than 300,000 South Carolinians and generating a $200 billion annual economic impact. Our manufacturing community provides good-paying jobs and produces a diverse catalog of world-class products such as cars, planes, tires, household goods and advanced materials. But what makes South Carolina’s manufacturing industry truly impactful and special is its people.

South Carolina’s manufacturing workers take great pride in what they do, what they accomplish and how their work makes communities stronger. That spirit is what built our vibrant economy and helped solidify South Carolina’s global reputation as a business-friendly state with hard-working, highly skilled people — all of which have enabled us to attract significant investments and new jobs.

This success is also a testament to our state’s right-to-work law and the principles it provides for individual freedom and prosperity. In a landscape where businesses thrive, job opportunities abound and workers enjoy the ability to choose their professional path without union involvement, the question arises: Are unions needed in South Carolina? The answer is no.

So, it makes you wonder why labor unions such as the United Auto Workers are publicly targeting manufacturers and their associates in the South. The answer is simple — it’s part of a strategy to increase dues and membership for the labor union. It’s an attempt to establish relevancy within a region of the nation that recognizes that unions are not needed in the workplace.

In South Carolina, we have seen how union involvement plays out: Their promises fall flat, and their impact on a community can have distressing and long-lasting consequences.

When Mack Trucks announced in 1986 that it would build an assembly plant in Fairfield County, the news was met with tremendous excitement, promising to lift an area in need of economic growth. But when unions began infiltrating the plant just a few years later, against the wishes of community members who warned about the risks unions would bring, it cast a shadow over not only that one operation but the entire region. By 2002, the Mack Trucks plant closed based on business conditions and overcapacity, and Fairfield County lost the hundreds of good-paying jobs that went along with it. Clearly, union representation did not guarantee long-term success or change.

We cannot let history repeat itself.

South Carolina has one of the lowest union participation rates in the country, which has generated jobs and prosperity that we have come to know and enjoy. Unions put S.C. jobs, and thus families, at risk.

Our state’s manufacturing community has done well in creating economic prosperity, empowering its workforce to thrive and innovate in highly technical environments, and supporting communities and philanthropic programs through good corporate citizenship without any union involvement.

Unions were not needed for South Carolina’s manufacturing sector to achieve the success it sees today and are definitely not needed for our state’s future economic success.

Sara Hazzard is the president and CEO of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance.

Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings.

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - On Tuesday, UPS and union workers reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract, avoiding a strike that threatened to disrupt shipping nationwide.

WMBF News spoke with experts in the Grand Strand about what this deal means for workers here at home.

It started with businesses bracing for a worst-case scenario with a potential UPS strike nationwide.

“Increase our supplies from those purveyors, and then also make sure that we just have enough supplies on hand,” said Hollie Davis, the Director of Operations at La Bella MD.

However, six days before the strike deadline, UPS and the Teamsters Union came up with some compromises.

It’s an agreement the Assistant Professor of Economics at Coastal Carolina University Dr. Sourav Batabyal said is a win-win solution.

“Thank God we could avoid this situation as they came to an agreement, UPS and the labor union,” said Dr. Batabyal. “So, my hope is the situation will normalize.”

If the contract is officially signed by the majority of union members, existing full- and part-time UPS teamsters will get $2.75 more per hour this year, and $7.50 more per hour over the length of the five-year contract.

The agreement also includes a starting pay increase for part-time workers to $21.

President of the Local Teamsters 509 Brian Clardy said it’s not just about compensation.

“Typically, most people run towards the fact that it’s all about money, and really the majority of the time it’s about the working conditions,” said Clardy. “So, I feel like this contract agreement that we’ve reached addresses all those concerns.”

Some of the improvements in working conditions are making sure there is air conditioning and cargo ventilation in delivery trucks.

Clardy said it’s the start of giving those essential workers a voice.

“They’re tired of having the thumb on their head and always being pushed down. If they’re the ones doing the work and making these companies billions that they’re making them, then reward them.”

Copyright 2023 WMBF. All rights reserved.

Providing the company's luxury leather alternative Reishi™

UNION, S.C., Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, biotechnology company MycoWorks begins production at its world-class manufacturing facility in Union, S.C. Now capable of scaling-up to meet luxury industry demand, the company is set to grow millions of square feet of its leather-alternative material produced with the company's proprietary technology, Fine Mycelium™. This patented technology produces Reishi™, a biomaterial with unparalleled hand-feel, strength and durability – on par with calfskin leather, the industry gold standard.

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With partners including Hermès and General Motors, MycoWorks' progression into commercial-scale manufacturing is a sign of maturation for the biomaterials industry that the company continues its leadership in materials science. Per MycoWorks' market sizing, there are serious challenges facing the $164 billion leather market and $28 billion luxury leather market such as supply chain constraints and inferior product alternatives. Since 2010, demand for luxury leather increased 251 percent, while high-end hide production declined by 22 percent due to falling beef and dairy consumption. MycoWorks, and its hallmark material Reishi™, are answering these challenges with the world's first full-scale alternative leather factory, a revolution in the production of high-quality natural materials for the luxury industry.

The opening of the 136,000 sq. ft. factory also marks the world's largest mycelium material operation, a major step for the use of mycelium– the "root structure" of mushrooms. Starting first with leather, MycoWorks' Fine Mycelium™ technology can later be expanded into other applications. The plant was made possible through a $125 million Series C funding round in 2021 from Prime Movers Lab, SK Networks, Mirabaud Lifestyle Impact & Innovation Fund, DCVC Bio, Novo Holdings and several strategic customers and investors. With construction beginning in 2022, the project was delivered on-time and on-budget, running the same tray-based mycelium growth system successfully piloted in its California plant yet scaled to 100x the volume.

"As MycoWorks continues to lead in biomaterial innovation, we are thrilled to open this first-of-its-kind facility in South Carolina. This reality is thanks to our team of experienced manufacturing leaders and engineers from the consumer goods, automotive, food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries who have adapted robotic equipment and systems to handle our unique tray-based biomaterials process. In turn, they have enabled the first high-quality mycelium material product at scale, a feat which has never been accomplished until now," says Doug Hardesty, MycoWorks Chief Operating Officer. "We thank the city and citizens of Union for welcoming MycoWorks into its community."

MycoWorks' facility uses state of the art robotics, digital analytics, and AI resources to achieve high-caliber quality and supply chain systems for the company's customers in an entirely new manufacturing process. Using automated guided robots (AGRs), the company has automated 80% of its process, enabling MycoWorks' to reduce handling costs but maintain expert interactions where they are critical for quality assurance, achieving both high quality and low-cost production.

For the leather industry, MycoWorks' Union, S.C., facility is a breakthrough in supply chain management, providing full predictability, transparency, and provenance of high-quality natural materials while also reducing waste. Grown-to-spec, Fine Mycelium™ can be customized for thickness, weight and mechanical properties, allowing for an unprecedented level of control of a natural material, previously impossible via traditional agriculture.

Luxury fashion and automotive brands have eagerly awaited this opening to move collection design from prototyping and capsules to full-scale adoption. To date, Fine Mycelium™ has already been applied with great success to product categories from luxury handbags and footwear to vehicle interiors and home furnishings.

For Union, S.C.—population 30,000— MycoWorks' investment is reshoring production from an industry that primarily sources from Europe. Union has had a long history in textile manufacturing, and as the region is already home to leading automotive manufacturers, Fine Mycelium™ will allow other industries in the area and globally to closely collaborate on development. This centralization of biotechnology and manufacturing has long been a goal of South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, a dedicated supporter of bringing cutting-edge science and technology to the state.

"We are thrilled to welcome MycoWorks to Union and have been eagerly awaiting the start of production," said Governor Henry McMaster. "We are already seeing the growth that this opening is bringing to the immediate and greater communities in the area, including more jobs, housing, storefronts, and overall investments. MycoWorks is a fantastic addition to our portfolio of energy-efficient plants, and we look forward to their long-term impact in South Carolina."

To learn more about employment opportunities at MycoWorks, visit https://www.mycoworks.com/careers

For media inquiries, please contact mycoworks@bpcm.com

About MycoWorksIn 2013, co-founders Philip Ross and Sophia Wang formed MycoWorks, a San Francisco-based biomaterials company dedicated to bringing new mycelium-grown materials to the world. MycoWorks' patented Fine Mycelium™ technology, an advanced manufacturing platform and breakthrough in materials science, engineers mycelium during growth to form proprietary, interlocking cellular structures for unparalleled beauty, handfeel, strength and durability. The company's flagship material- Reishi™ - is a new category of material for the world's best luxury brands. For more information, please visit mycoworks.com and madewithreishi.com.

SOURCE MycoWorks

Once an expanding boon for the Union County economy, the Belk Fulfillment Center in Jonesville is on a fast track toward closure.

According to an S.C. Works WARN notification report, the e-commerce hub is projected to close on April 30 this year, sparking the layoff of 310 employees.

The North Carolina-based department store also has retail locations in Easley, Greenville’s Haywood Mall, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Seneca, Gaffney, Greenwood, Spartanburg and Laurens. After the closure of the Jonesville site, the last remaining distribution center in the state will be in Blythewood, near Columbia.

The decision follows the completion of Belks’ financial restructuring last February, which reduces its debt by $450 million and boosted new capital sources by $225 million, according to the company, which is owned by New York private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

The restructuring plan also extended maturities on all company loans to July 2025 as the company aimed to transition from a traditional department store into “full omni retailer” with a growing e-commerce presence.

"As part of an effort to further align our supply chain network with the needs of the company, the Belk fulfillment center in Jonesville, SC will be closing in the coming months," Belk spokesperson Jessica Rohlik told GSA Business Report in an email. "The decision was made after careful review of internal processes. We know the closure will affect associates at the Jonesville fulfillment center, and we are committed to working with them in the coming weeks to provide resources during the transition."

Belk first announced plans in 2012 to invest $4.5 million in Union’s 500,000-square-foot former Disney facility to launch a distribution and fulfillment center as an extension of the company’s existing Pineville, N.C., logistics operations. After a $9 million upfitting, the company said it would invest an additional $32 million by 2015 after the “rapid growth” of online sales.

In 2014, the company said it would invest a collective $47 million in the facility to grow its footprint by 50% at 345,000 square feet by 2015.

“Belk’s e-commerce business continues to grow, and with it the demand for increased distribution and fulfillment operations, John R. Belk, former president and COO of Belk said in the 2014 announcement. “Our Jonesville facility has been a key factor in our belk.com growth, and we are pleased to be able to invest additional resources in and to bring additional jobs to Union County.”

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