freethecharleston5

In 1999, workers at the port of Charleston, SC faced a threat.  A shipping company bringing containerized cargo abandoned unionized longshore workers and hired scab labor at $7 an hour with no benefits.  When workers picketed, the company, police and state fought back violently, sending in hundreds of riot-clad officers, using helicopters, armored vehicles and patrol boats, to send workers a messaghe.  Police cracked heads, fired tear gas, plastic bullets and beat down the head of International Longshore Association (ILA) Local 1422, Ken Riley, while he tried to maintain order, leaving him with 12 stitches in the head.  Hear Ken Riley and author Suzan Erem tell the story of the police riot that resulted in five workers held in house arrest for two years -- the story of THE CHARLESTON 5.