Police say replacement worker beaten in Ohio

FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — Authorities in Ohio say a North Carolina man who had been hired as a replacement worker at a tire factory was beaten with a baseball bat in a hotel parking lot.

Police say they are still investigating the attack that happened last weekend.

Bobby Sellers of Leicester, N.C., says he was hit in the back and leg but didn’t suffer any serious injuries.

About 1,000 workers have been locked out for more than two weeks at a Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. plant in northwest Ohio. The company locked out the workers after they rejected a three-year contract proposal.

Cooper Tire has brought temporary workers to keep the factory operating.

The president of the local United Steelworkers tells The (Findlay) Courier newspaper that the union doesn’t condone any violence.