LAID-OFF USX WORKERS HEAR CLOSING ARGUMENTS

Scores of laid-off USX Steel workers filled the benches and lined the walls of a federal courtroom Wednesday to hear closing arguments in their case against USX Steel.

The arguments conclude a three-week trial over how much money should be paid to 24 laid-off workers. U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins' ruling on damages owed the workers will be used as a yardstick to determine how much money should be paid to the other hundreds laid off.Jenkins ruled last year that USX Steel illegally idled its Geneva plant to avoid paying benefits to an aging work force. Instead, USX laid off hundreds of workers.