A Butler County Common Pleas Court judge ordered restrictions on picketing at the Butler Eagle by striking union employees of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Judge William Robinson, who granted the preliminary injunction Friday, ruled Tuesday that no more than 10 picketers can be stationed at the Butler Eagle at one time, they cannot cross or block the loading dock parking lot entrance, and they cannot threaten, harass or intimidate anyone while on-site.

The Eagle has been printing the Post-Gazette newspaper since Oct. 15. Post-Gazette employees from several unions went on strike in a dispute over wages and health care benefits, and protests affecting distribution of the newspaper.

Ron Vodenichar, Eagle publisher, said on Oct. 20, “It is our firm belief that if the PG were to cease putting out a print product for any length of time, it would cause the permanent end of the Post-Gazette. Only by having third party assistance will the current jobs of many of the workers and maybe even the company survive.”

The Post-Gazette distributes a print product two days a week on Thursdays and Sundays.

Post-Gazette employees belonging to the Communications Workers of America locals 14842 and 14827, Teamsters local 205/211 and Pressmen’s Union local 24M/9N went on strike Oct. 5. Employees who belong to the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which represents newsroom workers, walked out last week. Some members of the guild have crossed the picket lines in Pittsburgh and returned to work.

Picketers initially arrived Oct. 19 at the Butler Eagle, temporarily blocking box trucks and vans carrying the Post-Gazette from the Eagle, according to testimony Monday by Robert Weber, Post-Gazette director of operations.

A video recorded Oct. 22 showed the situation escalating, when picketers temporarily blocked a van trying to leave the facility and verbally harassed its driver, according to court testimony. During the confrontation, according to court testimony, vehicles were damaged and their windows broken, and a substance was sprayed into the crowd. The windows cost nearly $1,000 to replace, and estimates for repairing the body damage haven’t been received, Weber said.