NEW CASTLE Ruling due on restricting Rundle strikers

The company says strikers blocked the road and threw eggs.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A judge was to decide today if any restrictions will be placed on striking Universal-Rundle workers.
Company officials are asking that there be no more than four pickets at any time and that they be in constant motion and no less than 10 feet apart.
Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Dominick Motto issued a temporary restraining order earlier this week, instructing striking workers against any violence or vandalism.
The judge heard a full day of testimony Thursday from company officials, security officers and striking workers.
Complaints
Two truck drivers, who were delivering and hauling away goods from the Cherry Street plant, testified eggs were thrown at their windshield and workers slowly walked from the road as they approached the plant.
Universal-Rundle managers said pickets shined flashlights into their faces as they drove into work in the early morning hours during the past few weeks.
The company also presented a video taken from Universal-Rundle property showing striking workers standing on a roadway about 100 feet away and talking to drivers approaching the plant. Several vehicles turned back while others went through after stopping or slowing down.
Two Lawrence County deputy sheriffs testified they saw no violence or problems two mornings this week.
Mayor
New Castle Mayor Timothy Fulkerson said he also spent time on the picket line and has never seen any violence or problems.
"The picketers are upset. Were they rowdy and disruptive? No. Were they angry and talking among themselves? Yes," Fulkerson said, referring to last Friday, when striking workers received a letter informing them they would be terminated unless they returned to work Monday.
The employees went on strike Oct. 15 over a dispute on wages and benefits. There are 113 members of the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & amp; Allied Workers International Union in New Castle. A plant in Iowa which employs about 40 workers is also on strike.
Workers at Georgia plant initially joined the strike, but went back to work last week without a new contract.
Union's stance
Claudia Davidson, general counsel for the union's Pittsburgh office, argued the company's complaint doesn't meet the standards set by state law for a restraining order. She said the company must prove workers have seized plant property, done irreparable damage or committed unlawful acts that police cannot enforce.
"These people have an absolute right to picket, but there should be some restrictions," said Phillip Clark of New Castle, the company's attorney.
Davidson noted testimony showed no one was denied access to the plant because of the picket line and the eggs did no real damage.
"Twelve to 24 eggs over 21 days is not unruly. It's not disrespectful and there's nothing unlawful about it," she said.