which the AEIF sought to vacate that portion of the July 1, 2005 Award. AK Steel answered the complaint and filed counterclaims (AK Steel Corp. v. AEIF, Case No. 1:05-CV-531) on November 2, 2005. On March 1, 2006, AK Steel began a lockout of about 2,700 workers at the Middletown Works plant in Middletown, Ohio. By the next day, the mill was operated by 1,800 salaried and temporary replacement workers. On July 27, 2006, the AEIF affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. In late October, AK offered a so-called final contract, which was rejected by the union by a vote of 2 to 1. One year after the lockout started, on February 28, 2007, AK Steel reached an agreement with the labor union. The union members ratified the proposed contract on March 14, 2007. As part of the agreement, the AEIF and AK Steel reached a joint settlement of their 5 counter lawsuits, with AK Steel paying $7,702,301. A third of the amount was for profit sharing, a third for an assistance fund for employee benefits of employees not recalled to work, and a third an escrow account to settle employee disputes and claims as a result of the lockout. The Employment Security Plan and the Trade and Craft Quota and Service/Support Group Quota (the "minimum base force guarantees") were completely terminated. This lockout was the longest labor stalemate in the 105-year history of the Middletown Works. The previous longest stalemate had been a six-day company lockout in 1986. Prior to that lockout, Armco's Middletown works never lost one minute of production due to a labor issue. Pittsburgh Logistics Systems Lawsuit In late 2016, AK Steel notified Pittsburgh Logistics Systems, Inc. (D/b/a PLS Logistics), a company which had been managing all of AK's truck dispatch and rail operations since 1995, that it was being replaced by Ryder as of January 18, 2017. At the time, AK Steel constituted 32% of the PLS' revenue base, according to court filings. PLS battled both Ryder and AK Steel in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, arguing that Ryder should not be able to use the list of trucking companies that PLS had used while servicing AK. However, U.S. District Court Judge Michael R. Barrett rejected PLS's contention and cleared Ryder and AK to proceed with the use of these carriers. Historical Films The Romance