Regarding the lawsuit to keep cruises out of the Port of Charleson, ILA Local 1422 President Ken said, "There is a stigma in our community that won't be satisfied until every commercial maritime business has left this community."
Just hours after neighborhood, environmentalist and preservationist groups filed a lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines, city and port leaders made an impassioned promise to join the court proceedings against them and to side with the Miami-based company.
A visibly angry Mayor Joe Riley took to City Hall Council Chambers on Monday morning, flanked by some two dozen port, political and business leaders. He repeatedly called the lawsuit “abusive” and said the idea of challenging whether a ship could dock at the historic port “requires some creativity.”
International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422 planned to vote Monday night on whether the union also will intervene. ILA President Ken Riley worried that the lawsuit could set a dangerous precedent for all maritime business.