This was read before the Georgetown (S.C.) Port Task Force on Thursday, October 21, 2011:

Good Evening Everyone,

Chairman, Honorable Senators, Honored Representatives, Mayor, and Remaining Task Force Board Members. I also want to thank the wonderful and concerned citizens that have taken their time to be here tonight.

My name is James E. Sanderson, Jr., President of United Steelworkers Local 7898. I am Honored and Privileged to Serve and Represent our members and the Labor Movement here in Georgetown. We represent bargaining unit employees of ArcelorMittal Steel, PHOENIX SERVICES, Aramark, Sodeho Marriott and International Paper. We represent some 500 members.

I want to first thank our State Delegation especially Senator Yancey McGill for finally uniting and forming a united team in our fight for the Port. Why did it take so long for this to happen? This is something that should have been done seven years ago. Had this been done I doubt we would be here tonight making noise about our Port. I also want to thank all of the hard work and support we have received and continue to receive from Jim Newsome and the South Carolina State Ports Authority and the US Army Corps of Engineers. David Posek, State Ports Authority Board Member who represents Georgetown Port is also to be commended for demonstrating his commitment to our Port by attending these meetings. However, it clearly isn’t their fault that we find our selves in this situation. I also want to say a special thank you to our US Senator Lindsey Graham, US Congressman Henry Brown and US Congressman Jim Clyburn for their unwavering support for Our Port. We created this PORT CRISIS!!! How?? In my opinion the funds would have already been approved and made available for the Port Of Georgetown and Charleston if only US Senator Jim DeMint and US Congressman Tim Scott understood how critical the Ports are to South Carolina economy. Jim DeMint and Tim Scott have walked away and abandoned our port. Is Congressman Tim Scott here tonight? The answer is no!! Jim DeMint and Tim Scott are only concerned about getting re-elected. This is a shame. How can we compete globally if we don’t have our Ports maintained? Does it make sense for North Carolina to be benefiting at our expense? The International Longshoremen, The United Steelworkers, Ryan Walsh, SSA, and The Steel Mill have developed a great working relationship working together for over 40 years. We have worked with DHEC securing the required permits for the Spoil sites. We just haven’t arrived on the “Port Scene” yesterday. The Georgetown Port is critical to our survival and to our Community. Currently, at ArcelorMittal we are Shipping DRI from Trinidad to the Port of Wilmington, NC. Why?? We can’t use the Port. We then off load the ship into storage facilities at Wilmington, NC. We then load the DRI into the trucks, which are owned by Perry Collins to truck back down to Georgetown. How can ArcelorMittal operate competitively having to absorb these added costs? We don’t know how long ArcelorMittal can continue operating under these conditions. We shouldn’t give up on having the federal Government fund the dredging of our port. If we continue down this path, when will we be asked to take care of Highways and Bridges? There is a movement in this country that is trying to shift the responsibility of these Ports down to the States? The Ports are infrastructure and should be treated as such. We know that everyone here tonight understands the important role that our Port has in our economic development’s future. Wayne Gregory, Georgetown Economic Development Director shouldn’t be handcuffed. The Port is our lifeline for a more secure and stable economy for the City, County of Georgetown and even the State of South Carolina.

Georgetown is extremely blessed to have a God given natural resource and a valuable asset- The Georgetown Port. However, it has been neglected for a number of years by the elected leaders of our community. There also seems to be quite a few people that seem to not have an understanding of the port’s importance in the City of Georgetown. Their primary focus is tourism. We have no complaint against Tourism. However, tourism alone won’t support Georgetown. There was an article that appeared in the Georgetown Times July 14th, 2009 not even a week since the Steel Mill was idled due to the economy where a City Council Member was wanting the Steel Mill torn down and testing to be started on the Steel Mill Site. He was lobbying for Hotels and Restaurants. He proudly stated that he wanted to promote Tourism. Who in Georgetown is steering the direction of Georgetown? Is it the elected leaders or someone who doesn’t want to loose their influence? Georgetown won’t ever become a tourist destination such as Charleston.

County Council and City Council has to come together as a team and start acting as LEADERS!! Stop Following. We are currently witnessing the downtown controversy about when to celebrate Halloween!! Give us all a break and start focusing on the Big Picture!!

The future Success of our Economy in the United States, South Carolina and Georgetown depends on our manufacturing base. Our focus to sustain the present industries should remain our #1 priority. What will provide the greatest Potential additional job opportunities for Georgetown Community – Is having the port back in operation.

In Closing I would ask for all of you to start taking a more active role in the decision making process in the issues facing us here in Georgetown. Our livelihood is to important for us to just sit back and only complain. Ask yourself this question. What would happen if the Steel Mill and Paper Mill shut down? These plants may be gone but the PORT will always be here!!

We need to make sure that the attention being generated about our Port isn’t temporary. It needs be ongoing. This is where we need the people here in this room to join our movement and make the noise loud enough so it can be heard in Washington, DC, like former Governor Mark Sanford suggested when he visited our Port on November 3rd, 2009. Let’s Support the Port and GET IT DREDGED!!!!!!!


ACTION ITEMS

• We need to re-establish the Georgetown Propeller club and have regular monthly meetings.
• We need to have a petition drive for the Dredging of our Port
• We need to have Quarterly Review meetings with our State Delegation, County Council, City Council and the Economic Development Committee and a yearly meeting that includes our US Senators and US Congressman for our District

I want to also state for the record that this statement doesn’t represent ArcelorMittal by any means. This is from the United Steelworkers.



Respectively Submitted,

James E. Sanderson, Jr