Unionized dockworkers have the right to staff every job at a new container terminal in South Carolina under a federal court decision — but there is no guarantee that a $1 billion loading site that has sat largely idle will soon resume activity.

A three-judge panel on Friday denied an appeal from the South Carolina State Ports Authority that would have instead maintained the fairly unique "hybrid" model that relies on state and union employees. The ruling handed a victory to International Longshoremen's Association members in the least unionized state seeking to hold onto jobs after technological changes last century that threatened their work.