Judge Limits the Number of Picketers at Site
Striking drywall workers lost a round in court Wednesday when a Riverside Superior Court judge barred them from stationing more than 10 picketers near the entrance to a Corona subdivision.
Lawyers for the strikers, who are demanding a union and higher wages, asked Judge Charles S. Field in a hearing Tuesday to lift his temporary restraining order against the strikers.
The judge refused, but did accede to a few minor changes requested by the strikers in issuing a preliminary injunction Wednesday.
The new order, for instance, does not forbid picketers from “shouting, yelling or making insulting, opprobrious and abusive remarks,” as did the old one requested by Irvine home builder Woodcrest Development Inc.
“Whether we like opprobrious language or not, it’s part of a labor dispute,” said Steven J. Kaplan, a lawyer for the strikers. “What the company was asking was an overly broad restriction on free speech.”
Lawyers for the strikers are fighting seven such court orders obtained during the two months of striking against Southern California drywall companies and home builders.
Wednesday’s order concerning Woodcrest’s Vista del Este subdivision is the first to be challenged by the strikers’ lawyers.
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