March 11, 2019 | Simon Greer
On October 27, 1994, workers at the Melrose Resort on Daufuskie Island made history. By a vote of 98 to 45, employees chose representation by the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), becoming the first workers in the Hilton Head area to successfully organize and win union representation. At a time when fewer than 3% of workers in the South were organized, this victory represented a significant milestone for the labor movement.
What made this campaign especially important was the partnership between organized labor and the community. The workers' success was built on a strong alliance between the union and the Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment (CAFÉ), which provided community support, organizing resources, and worker leadership throughout the campaign and the 16 months of contract negotiations that followed.
Founded in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1980, CAFÉ emerged from the organizing struggles surrounding the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union's campaign against the J.P. Stevens textile plants. Recognizing that traditional union organizing alone could not reach every worker, the organization embraced a broader approach to building worker power. Its mission focused on organizing communities around workplace rights, challenging unfair employment practices, advocating for stronger labor protections, and creating opportunities for working people to have a voice.
From its beginning, the organization also recognized that racial division had been a major obstacle to building a stronger labor movement in the South. Its commitment to developing a diverse, multiracial membership and leadership reflected the belief that Black and white workers must stand together to achieve lasting change.
Building Bridges Between Labor and Community
The partnership between CAFÉ and the IUOE began through an earlier campaign involving Hyatt Hotel banquet employees on Hilton Head Island. Workers challenged the hotel's practice of keeping service gratuities rather than distributing them to the employees who earned them.
In 1992, CAFÉ organized a public demonstration during one of Hilton Head's busiest tourist weekends, bringing together members and supporters from across South Carolina. The protest attracted statewide attention and introduced IUOE representatives to the organization's community-based approach to worker organizing.
Although the Hyatt campaign did not achieve its immediate goal, the relationship established between the two organizations created a foundation of trust, cooperation, and shared organizing strategies that would prove essential in the Melrose Resort campaign.
Organizing Workers and Mobilizing the Community
In the summer of 1994, a Melrose Resort employee contacted CAFÉ seeking help with workplace concerns and expressing interest in forming a union. Through that connection, employees were introduced to the IUOE, and organizing meetings began. More than 30 workers, representing a diverse group of employees, came together to form an organizing committee.
Over the next three months, CAFÉ and the IUOE developed a coordinated labor-community campaign. Rather than allowing management to isolate workers, they brought the organizing effort into the broader community.
The campaign included:
Worker leadership development: Employees organized, shared their experiences, and helped lead the effort for union representation.
Community engagement: Local residents, faith leaders, ministers, and community organizations joined in supporting the workers.
Public awareness: Press conferences, community events, and newsletters helped educate the public about the campaign.
Grassroots outreach: Members distributed thousands of newsletters and spoke directly with workers at bus stops, churches, supermarkets, and throughout the community.
National solidarity: Reverend Jesse Jackson sent a letter encouraging employees to stand together for justice, respect, and a better future for their families and community.
This approach demonstrated that successful organizing requires more than workplace conversations. It requires building relationships, educating the community, and creating a network of support that workers can rely on throughout their struggle.
Continuing the Fight Beyond the Election
Although workers won union representation in October 1994, securing a contract proved to be another challenge. Negotiations continued for months without an agreement, but the labor-community partnership grew stronger.
CAFÉ continued mobilizing support through faith organizations, the NAACP, local community groups, and labor allies. Organizers from across the South joined demonstrations demanding progress in contract negotiations, while community members continued public pressure on resort management. The National Labor Relations Board eventually issued a bad-faith bargaining ruling against the employer.
The impact of this partnership extended beyond Melrose Resort. The organizing momentum helped inspire additional workplace campaigns throughout the Hilton Head community, including:
ECO Services: Waste-hauling employees pursued union representation with support from CAFÉ and the IUOE. Although the union initially fell short in the election, employer violations resulted in an NLRB bargaining order.
Walmart: Workers received organizing support that helped secure an agreement addressing the posting of job openings and opportunities for African American employees to advance into supervisory positions.
Ellen Ashley: Employees organized around workplace concerns and successfully advocated for a change in management.
Lowcountry Regional Transit Authority: Bus drivers began developing proposals seeking improved wages after several years without a pay increase.
A Legacy of Labor-Community Partnerships
The Melrose Resort campaign demonstrated that when workers, unions, faith leaders, and community organizations work together, they can build the collective power necessary to challenge unfair workplace practices and advance economic justice.
The partnership between CAFÉ and the IUOE also expanded into other organizing efforts across South Carolina, including work at the Charleston Naval Yard, a DuPont facility in Lugoff, and commemorations of the historic 1945 Charleston Cigar Workers strike.
The lasting lesson of the Melrose campaign is that the labor movement cannot succeed in isolation. Strong unions are built not only through workplace organizing but also through relationships with the communities workers live in. By bringing labor and community together, this historic effort helped establish a model of solidarity, worker leadership, and collective action that continues to inform organizing throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry.
This history reminds us that our work is part of a much larger movement—one built by generations of workers and community leaders who understood that lasting change happens when we organize together.