AK Steel picketing restricted by Butler County judge

AK Steel union workers are going to have to put a halt on their picketing efforts for a little while. In court on Thursday, a Butler County judge granted a 14-day restraining order limiting picketing by union workers at AK Steel Corp. The company filed a complaint on Wednesday at Butler County Common Pleas Court blaming the union for intimidation, harassment and coercive behavior, and asked the court to place limits on picketing outside the company's Middletown Works in southwest Ohio. The restrictions ban obscene language, threats, obstructing traffic and picketing within 50 feet of the plant's gates. Approximately 2,500 workers have been locked out of the plant for nearly seven months with the mill still operating with replacement workers. AK Steel is a producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, along with carbon and stainless tubular steel products.