He shook his head.

“We’ve got to,” he said.

Jackson’s blue-gray eyes passed over his co-workers as he told them that Fayetteville’s steelworkers union had more people cross the picket line than any other plant. More than 50 union workers were inside.

Jackson turned in a circle to reach everyone, and his black shirt on the back showed the word “Scab” crossed by a red slash.

Employees looked across the access road at the entrance to the plant, where the day’s only shift prepared to let out.

Someone handed Jackson a megaphone. The 80 or so picketers began spreading out along the roadside.

Then, they started to point and shout. Across the way, shift workers were walking out beneath an awning and a marquee that read, “Welcome to the Fayetteville Plant.”

“Scabs! Scabs!” the shouts came.

Jackson, megaphone raised, said, “Here comes our first one!” as a car pulled forward to make a right out of the lot.

The chorus of abuse rose, husky, male voices fringed by the higher cries of women.

Ken Nettles, who had worked at the plant for 35 years, helped keep the road clear but also announced the cars driven by people who had crossed the picket line.

“Green truck!” he said as he pointed, trying to direct his index finger right at the driver’s face.

“Silver pickup!”

“Green car!”

“Six in a row! It’s a scab parade!”

The people in the cars tried to look blank and avoid glancing left or right. Most windows were up, and the drivers didn’t stop for the stop sign as they turned.

One man in a sport utility vehicle drove by singing with his window down. Another man in a truck wore a faint smile and waved. A man on a motorcycle seemed more vulnerable to the insults with no car around him, but kept his steady glare forward.

“It makes me angry, upset,” said James Locklear, as he saw people he knew drive away.

David Strickland, who has a wife and three children under 7 years old, said people who had crossed the line were only hurting themselves.

His shift for the strike is 7 to 11 p.m. on Thursdays, but he stood outside the plant yesterday for support.

“It’s to protect our jobs. It’s to protect people who have worked here for years,” he said.

At Ramsey Street, the drivers met more picketers, but sheriff’s deputies stopped traffic so they could exit quickly.

After the last car pulled out, Jackson raised the megaphone to thank picketers.

He told them to work on union members still in the plant by reminding them they have 90 days of healthcare coverage even if they strike.

He told them they would win, as he had said before the shift ended and the first cars started rolling out.