NORTH BERGEN, NJ (June 2, 2025) – The International Dockworkers Council (IDC) will honor the 25th Anniversary of the “ILA’s Charleston Five”, a remarkable and historic event that began with a January 20th, 2000, protest by ILA members in the Port of Charleston, South Carolina against the use of non-union labor that sparked a world-wide Civil and Labor Rights campaign.
The Charleston Five got its name from the five ILA Charleston ILA members – Jason Edgerton, Elijah Ford Jr., Kenneth Jefferson, Ricky Simmons and Peter Washington Jr. – who were arrested following a brutal confrontation with over 600 Charleston law enforcement authorities who attacked 150 peaceful ILA protesters. In the aftermath of the protest and charges dropped against nine ILA members for lack of evidence, the State’s Attorney General at the time, Charlie Condon, sought to exploit the incident for personal political gains, and brought felony rioting, conspiracy to riot, two assault cases and resisting arrest against the “Charleston Five.”
Kenneth Riley, the ILA’s International Vice President from the Port of Charleston, who was on the picket line that night on January 20th, became the spokesman and champion for the “Charleston Five.” He knew as a lifelong resident of Charleston, that the Attorney General’s pursuit of five ILA members was not in the name of justice, but an attempt to protect the “Old Boy’s Network” and to further suppress the rights of organized labor in a notorious anti-union State. Plus, Charlie Condon had his eyes on the Governor’s Mansion in Columbia and saw this aggressive attack against unionized workers and minorities as his ticket to victory.
Dockworkers across America and around the globe soon joined the fight to defend the Charlston Five. Key to the mounting worldwide protest and international solidarity for the Charleston Five was the support Kenny Riley secured from the newly formed International Dockworkers’ Council. Both the Charleston Five and the IDC will celebrate their Silver Anniversaries at the June 2025 conference later this month.
After almost two years under house arrest, the Charleston Five members were finally freed of charges in November 2001.
Four of the five Charleston Five ILA members were black members of ILA Local 1422 and this was a struggle for Civil Rights and Labor Rights.
As today’s global dockworkers gather in Charleston, they recognize that the “resistance, solidarity, and unwavering defense of dockworkers’ rights around the world continues,” notes Jordi Aragunde Miguens, an IDC leader.
“This isn’t just an anniversary -it’s a battle cry,” said Aragunde about the upcoming IDC gathering in Charleston. “In Charleston, we’ll shout loud and clear that the struggle continues and the docks will never surrender.”
For additional information on the IDC’s 25th Anniversary Celebration in Charleston, SC, please email Maria Fong at [email protected] or Fran Shuler at [email protected].
