Members of United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 169 have confronted harassment from hired AK Steel thugs, an antiunion propaganda campaign by AK Steel combined with pro-company coverage of the fight in the Mansfield News-Journal, and a flood of court injunctions, legal suits, arrests, and police harassment.

The Steelworkers have hosted rallies attended by thousands in November and March, and locked-out workers have spoken at union meetings around the state and traveled to rallies in Michigan, Iowa, and other states. They have attended national labor gatherings, including in Pittsburgh and Chicago. Yard signs supporting the union are in evidence all over Mansfield and neighboring towns. Both pro-union and antiunion billboards dot the highways.

In early August three "steel analysts" toured the Mansfield plant. Wally Best, of the Wall Street investment firm Morgan Stanley, said afterwards that the plant is "better now than before the lockout," and added, "the tour was positive in terms of how Wall Street looks at things." David MacGregor, from an outfit called Midwest Research, gushed, "Wall Street considers AK the most highly regarded steel management team in the American steel industry."

AK Steel reported a net income of $49.1 million, or 44 cents per share, for the second quarter of the year 2000, compared to $29.7 million, or 27 cents per share, for the second quarter of 1999. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette referred to the company as "the nation's most profitable unionized steelmaker."

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has weighed in on the side of the employers, rejecting the union's charge of unfair labor practices by the company. On July 31 the regional division of the NLRB ruled that the lockout "was utilized by the employer (AK Steel) as a legitimate economic weapon in an effort to pressure the union to accept its position on a succeeding contract." The board claimed that the employer "demonstrated a good faith effort" to reach an agreement.

A sister local of Local 169, USWA Local 1865 in Ashland, Kentucky, is now preparing for a possible contract dispute. The pact at AK Steel's facility there expires on August 31. The local's newsletter reports that AK Steel has moved at least 16 trailers onto the property, and has closed Armco Road, the back entrance to the plant, by installing a fence with a gate and guards. The local has called a rally August 28 in Ashland, at the union hall at 734 Carter Avenue at 3:00 p.m.

As part of building solidarity and publicizing the September 9 rally in Mansfield, union activist Ray Delarwelle estimates that as many as 50 members of Local 169 will go to the August 28 rally in Ashland. They will also participate in Labor Day parades in Mansfield, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Detroit. For more information on the September 9 rally, call (419) 522-9375.

Tony Prince is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees in Cleveland.