NLRB Regional Director Ronald Hooks said there isn’t enough evidence to support KapStone’s accusations. Hooks wrote that KapStone was attempting to “discourage employees from engaging in these (union) activities.”

Earlier this year, KapStone reached a settlement with the AWPPW over nine unfair labor practice charges, most of them unrelated to the firings. Part of the settlement was to rehire Allen, but Froberg, Bouchard, Elben and Blanchard are still without work.

KapStone attorney, Jim Shore, told the judge that some protesters threw tacks in to the road and shouted racial slurs and taunts at disabled employees crossing the picket line (although he was not referring to the five fired workers specifically).

“Women were called vile, misogynist names. … One woman had a car tailgate her so closely she couldn’t see the license plate,” Shore said.

Shore said Blanchard “engaged in two separate and unprovoked acts of violence” — kicking and denting a contractor’s car and later attacking another contractor’s S.U.V. Shore said protesters “swarmed” the SUV, blocked it from passing and smashed picket signs against the windows, and that Blanchard jumped on the hood.

“The contractor drove away to escape the erupting actions,” Shore said.