Longshoremen reach accord

After more than two years, the International Longshoremen’s Association and stevedores who work Charleston’s waterfront have agreed to a long sought-after local contract.

The deal between the South Carolina Stevedores Association and ILA Local 1422 means the Port of Charleston will be spared a potential work stoppage or slowdown at least through 2010.

Ratification of a new local contract between ILA Local 1422 and the stevedores association was to have occurred in September 2004, when Local 1422 ratified a master international contract approved by its parent organization and a district contract concerning the operation of ports in the southeastern United States.

But Ken Riley, president of the roughly 1,000-member Local 1422, balked at the local agreement, saying it didn’t provide enough of a bump to a pension plan he believes pales in comparison to those offered in other ports. His members continued to work without a local contract, even though a formal extension of the old contract had never been signed.

The agreement reached this week provides ILA workers with a 12% increase in benefits when they retire, based on years of service. In return, the union agreed to offer ongoing safety training for the union’s membership.

Supply chain execs rank Charleston port No. 1 in North America

The Port of Charleston ranks first in customer satisfaction across North America, according to the readers of World Trade magazine.

In a survey reported in the publication’s October edition, Charleston had the highest percentage of respondents saying they were “very satisfied” with the port, the magazine said.

The magazine for supply chain company executives asked more than 5,000 subscribers how ports figure into their transportation strategies.

Of the respondents using the Port of Charleston, 46% gave the port the highest mark possible. Charleston edged out Montreal by eight points, Seattle by 11 and Norfolk by 13.

The World Trade “Reader-to-Reader Report” also found importers and exporters are becoming more selective, with more than 60% changing ports since the beginning of last year. Nearly 70% cited the primary reason was to avoid port congestion.

Charleston’s antidote for congestion has been constant productivity improvement through new equipment, technology and effective management.

Former U.S. general completes CaroLinks advisory board

Gen. John W. Handy, the former commander of U.S. Transcom, the Department of Defense’s global air, land and sea transportation organization, has become the sixth member of the advisory board of Charleston-based inter-modal company
CaroLinks.

Handy is the executive vice president of Horizon Lines, whose chairman and CEO, Chuck Raymond, also is a member of
CaroLinks’ advisory board.

Speaking of his new appointment, Handy said, “Like my colleague, Chuck Raymond, I am very excited by what CaroLinks is doing to speed containers from the Port of Charleston to new inland ports and distribution centers. After a career which included deep involvement in logistics and transportation management, I believe that the CaroLinks model can provide relief to the problem of port congestion and can become an enormous part of making the distribution system more efficient in ports facing further congestion.”

CaroLinks’ President and CEO Lucy Duncan-Scheman said, “Gen. Handy has had a remarkable career and there can be no one with a greater understanding of global transportation than him. We believe that his in-depth knowledge and experience will bring an additional dimension of experience and expertise to our advisory board, and to our company as a whole. I’m also delighted that, with Chuck Raymond, we will have two members of Horizon Lines’ senior management as part of our advisory board.”

Citadel Mall’s Parisian store is up for sale once again

The Parisian department store at Citadel Mall is up for sale after being purchased by Belk Inc. in early October.

Belk bought the entire Parisian chain from Saks Inc. for $285 million and announced that it would sell 12 of the 38 stores acquired in the transaction, including the Charleston store. A Parisian store at Midtown at Forest Acres in Columbia is also slated for sale.

Leigh Burnett, marketing director for Citadel Mall, said the Parisian store would remain open through the end of the year.

“I’m certain they haven’t finalized the sale yet,” Burnett said. “They are in negotiations with prominent retailers. That’s all we know at this point.”

Tim Belk, chairman and chief executive of Belk Inc., said the company intends to keep the majority of the Parisian stores it acquired, but is divesting some stores based on geographic location, growth potential and proximity to existing Belk stores.

SUBSCRIBE | REPRINTS | CONTACT US

Phone: 843-849-3100    Fax: 843-849-3122