Injunction issued against Kohler picketers

The Kohler Co. labor strike entered its second full day Tuesday with a Sheboygan judge issuing a temporary injunction barring picketers from interfering with traffic near company property, a day after protesters brought travel around company headquarters to a standstill.

Sheboygan County Circuit Court Judge James Bolgert issued the order at the request of Kohler Co. officials, who are also seeking additional restrictions on picketers, including barring them from engaging in mass protests. A hearing is now scheduled for Nov. 25.

The temporary injunction issued Tuesday bars demonstrators from interfering with traffic on public roads and with vehicles entering or leaving Kohler Co. property. It also restricts picketers from seizing and occupying Kohler property, including driveways.

Picketers who violate the order could be arrested and charged.

United Auto Workers Local 833 officials declined comment Tuesday on the court order.

The order comes a day after an estimated 1,200 UAW Local 833 members and their supporters marched from the Emil Mazey union hall to the company’s campus nearly 2 miles away, while several hundred more picketers lined the street outside a company plant in the Village of Kohler.

In addition, 200 or so picketers gathered outside the Kohler generator plant on County Highway LS in Haven.

Kohler attorneys alleged in court filings that those actions triggered traffic jams stretching 2 miles in every direction from the intersection leading to Highland Drive and Twin Oaks Road from about 6 to 9:30 a.m.

Non-union employees reported that commutes normally taking less than five minutes took more than three hours.

Upon arrival, throngs of picketers delayed their entrance to parking areas by standing in front of vehicles and prompted some to turn back.

Meanwhile, delivery trucks, customers and others doing business with the company encountered similar situations.

Kohler also alleges picketers directed abusive language toward drivers, crowded around vehicles and harassed people trying to access company property.

On Monday, picketers told the Sheboygan Press they weren't trying to block cars and instead were attempting to check ID badges to make sure union members were not showing up for work.

The company estimates about 3,500 non-union employees report to work there each day, and another 100 or so vendors and other business partners visit every day, on average.

Kohler claims the behavior was instigated, encouraged and authorized by the UAW Local 833 and that the number of picketers overwhelmed the four Village of Kohler police officers on duty.

In addition, court filings show that police reported physical confrontations with picketers and that corporate security officers said they were assaulted by picketers, including one who reported being elbowed in the ribs.

Protesters were given until 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to comply with the temporary injunction, Kohler Police Chief William Rutten said, and no incidents were reported as of late afternoon.

“We’ve been having traffic flowing to the company today pretty much flowing unimpeded,” Rutten said.

Kohler attorneys have also requested additional restrictions, which weren't granted in Judge Bolgert's temporary injunction. The request includes barring protesters from gathering within 10 feet of intersections near Kohler property and from coming within six feet of vehicles entering and exiting the premises.

Kohler is also seeking to allow no more than four demonstrators near any entrance or exit to company property.

UAW members went on strike after voting Sunday morning to reject what Kohler officials called the company's “final offer” as the union's contract expired over the weekend.

Among the major sticking points that have left the two sides at an impasse is a two-tiered wage structure that union leaders say has created significant pay disparities among employees performing similar work.

As of Tuesday, UAW officials said that the two sides haven't had any communication on further negotiations since the strike began.

The UAW Local 833 represents about 2,100 employees working at the company's factories in the Town of Mosel and Village of Kohler, which produce plumbing fixtures, engines and power generation systems. The company employs more than 5,000 people in Sheboygan County.

Sheboygan Press reporter Phillip Bock contributed to this story. Reach Josh Lintereur at 920-453-5147,jlintereur@sheboyganpress.comor @joshlintereur on Twitter