A federal judge in Fort Lauderdale ordered Point Blank Body Armor on Thursday to reinstate striking workers and three employees who claimed they were fired for a union-organizing campaign.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra found sufficient evidence that Point Blank committed unfair labor practices at its Oakland Park plant. The company, which makes bulletproof vests for the military and law enforcement, has one week to comply with the ruling. The injunction stands until a final decision on the matter is issued by the National Labor Relations Board.

A lawyer for Point Blank said it will abide by the decision but added it was too soon to determine whether it will file an appeal.

''Without having fully analyzed the whole decision, we're not happy about it,'' said Stuart Newman, an Atlanta lawyer representing Point Blank. ''We don't think [the judge's] conclusions are right.'' He added that Point Blank was not surprised by the ruling because Judge Marra was required to show legal deference to the NLRB, which sought the injunction.

SECOND ORDER

The ruling marks just the second time a South Florida company has been ordered to reinstate striking workers, according to Jennifer Burgess-Solomon, a supervisory attorney with the NRLB. A similar injunction was issued last year against the Hollywood operations of GFC Crane Consultants, she said.

''This is a major victory,'' said Scott Cooper, an organizing director for the Union of Needletrades Industrial and Textile Employees. More than 100 Point Blank workers, many Haitian and Latin American, have been on strike since August.

Cases with allegations of unfair labor practices typically have the NLRB acting as both prosecutor and judge. The regional office brought suit in this case against Point Blank, and the agency in Washington will make the final decision.

A two-week trial was held last month before an NLRB administrative law judge to determine whether Point Blank violated federal labor laws. However, concerned that a ruling might take several months and cause union support to dissipate, the NLRB sought to have the U.S. District Court issue an injunction ordering the company to rehire the workers.

''We're very pleased Judge Marra ordered the immediate reinstatement of the workers as we requested,'' Burgess-Solomon said. ``He agreed with all of the requested remedies that we sought.''

Marra's ruling must be obeyed until a final decision comes from the NLRB in Washington, which will review the decision made by the administrative law judge. When those steps will happen is uncertain.

SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

In the meantime, Point Blank must reinstate terminated workers Sadius Isma, Carlos Alejandro Briseno and Midho Cadet. In a 29-page ruling, Marra found sufficient evidence for the NLRB to determine that their terminations were related to union-organizing efforts.

Marra found other actions taken by Point Blank to be unfair labor practices. One example was closing the plant July 18 after workers presented a petition seeking union representation.

''Furthermore, ending overtime and changing break schedules can be viewed as coercion and interference with the attempt to unionize,'' Marra wrote. ``The company's assertion that ending overtime and changing break schedules were the result of security concerns or lack of work may ultimately prove to be valid. . . . However, this court's duty is limited to viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the [NLRB].''

Before the release of the judge's decision Thursday evening, Newman said Point Blank notified striking workers that positions were available in the plant because a number of employees would be relocating to a second facility that Point Blank is opening. Newman could offer no information on where that plant is located.

Cooper, the union organizer, viewed the notice as an attempt to sway striking workers to break with the union. Under Marra's order, newly hired or transferred workers can be displaced by striking or terminated workers.

The union plans to meet with striking workers today to determine if they will return to work, Cooper said.