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TechnoratiWorkers Win a Big Round in Chicago Factory Sit-In
CHICAGO - The creditor of a Chicago plant where laid-off employees are conducting a sit-in to demand severance pay said Tuesday it would extend loans to the factory so it could resolve the dispute, though the workers declared their protest unfinished.
![[A worker takes part in a picket outside the Republic Windows and Doors factory on December 8 in Chicago, Illinois. Workers occupying the window-making factory have been offered a lifeline after the bank, which had cut off financing to the production facility, said it would give the company a new loan to help cover the costs of their vacation and severance pay. (AFP/Getty Images/File/Scott Olson)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/1210-republicwindows.jpg "1210-republicwindows.jpg")
A resolution seemed nearer as Bank of America, which yanked the plant's financing last week, announced it sent a letter to Republic Windows and Doors offering "a limited amount of additional loans" to resolve its employee claims.
But the United Electrical Workers union, which represents the Republic workers, said late Tuesday that no final agreement has been reached and that there are still important details to be worked out before that can happen. Negotiations were to resume Wednesday.
About 200 of the 240 laid-off workers had responded to their three days' notice of the plant closing by staging a sit-in and vowing to stay put until assurances they would get severance and accrued vacation pay.
Lawmakers have criticized Bank of America for cutting off money to the plant after it exhausted its credit line, even though the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank itself received $25 billion from the government's financial bailout package.
Word of Bank of America's loan offer came as the bank, union representatives and Republic held talks in Chicago on the fifth day of the sit-in.
Union organizer Leah Fried said it was too soon to know whether the sit-in would end soon. Workers would have to vote to end the action, but she said there was no such deal as of Tuesday night.
Workers have remained defiant, if surprised that their protest has drawn intense nationwide interest, including expressions of support from President-elect Barack Obama.
"I never thought this would get so big," said Ricardo Caceres, a 39-year-old assembly line worker taking part in the sit-in. "I am proud of my brother and sister workers."
In its statement Tuesday, Bank of America sided at least in part with the disgruntled workers, expressing concern for what it alleged was "Republic's failure to pay their employees the employee claims to which they are legally entitled."
The loan would be designed only to enable Republic to pay laid-off workers, said bank spokeswoman Julie Westermann. There was no question of offering a loan large enough to reopen the factory, she said.
Asked whether the bank sympathized with the laid-off workers, Westermann said, "Of course we do." She added that bank officials were ready to begin the loan-approval process if talks concluded with an agreement.
Republic officials did not return messages on Tuesday from The Associated Press.
Without the severance and vacation pay, Caceres said, he and many of his fellow workers risk falling behind on mortgage payments and even losing their homes.
Fried said most of the workers made no more than around $30,000 a year at the plant, which she said was barely enough to feed and house their families.
"They've had rough times, and that fuels a desire to say, 'Enough! We can't be kicked around anymore,'" she said. "There really is a sense of desperation. They have nothing to lose."
Associated Press writers Deanna Bellandi and Caryn Rousseau contributed to this report.
36 Comments so far
Show AllThanks to the thousands of Commondreams.org readers who stepped up to express their support for the members of UE Local 1110 at Republic Windows, and helped to spread the word about this factory occupation across the world. At one point inside the factory, the workers accquired access to a laptop with internet connection and were able to keep track of the earned media coverage they were getting. By early Monday morning, a Google news search found nearly 1,500 story references - and that was just the beginning. One Facebook group grew from 800 to 2,400 members between noon and midnight Sunday. Labor and grassroots community groups mobilized from North Carolina to San Francisco to launch protests against BoA. Republic workers were amazed and inspired by the messages of solidarity and the real material aid that poured in from across the US.
Your solidarity really did make a difference.
UE News Update #2: Vote is 'Yes' at Republic; Plant Occupation Ends
10 December, 2008
[http://www.ueunion.org/uenewsupdates.html?news=438 ]
CHICAGO
After the conclusion of negotiations Wednesday evening, the membership of Local 1110, more than 200 workers, met in the plant cafeteria to hear and consider the tentative settlement that had been worked out by UE negotiators over the past three days.
The settlement was approved by a unanimous vote.
'Justice - We Did It!'
Following the vote, the UE members, led by Local President Armando Robles, marched out of the plant, chanting “We did it!” in English and Spanish.
Pres. Robles stepped to the microphones outside the front entrance to the plant, where a throng of reporters and cameras had been waiting. He announced the end of the occupation and said that justice had been achieved.
UE Western Region President Carl Rosen then described the negotiations, summarized the settlement agreement, and commented on the significance of the struggle and the achievement.
Pay, Health Care, Vacation Pay
The settlement totals $1.75million. It will provide the workers with:
* eight weeks of pay they are owed under the federal WARN Act;
* provided with two months of continued health coverage, and;
* pay for all accrued and unused vacation.
JPMorgan Chase will provide $400,000 of the settlement, with the balance coming from Bank of America
Third Party Fund
Although the money will be provided as a loan to Republic Windows and Doors, it will go directly into a third-party fund whose sole purpose is to pay the workers what is owed them.
As the Local 1110 leaders characterized the settlement, “We fought to make them pay what they owe us, and we won.”
'Historic Victory'
UE Director of Organization Bob Kingsley spoke on behalf of the National Union, describing the outcome of the occupation as “a victory for workers everywhere,” and as “an historic victory for America’s labor movement.”
Kingsley went on to call the settlement “a win for all working men and women who face uncertainty, unfairness and job loss in a troubled economy.”
'The Window of Opportunity' Foundation
Kingsley then announced the creation of a new foundation, dedicated to reopening the plant. It will be initiated with seed money from the UE national union and the thousands of dollars of donations to the UE Local 1110 Solidarity Fund that have come in from across the country and around the world in just the past five days.
Melvin Maclin of Local 1110 announced the name of the foundation, which was chosen by the workers themselves: the Window of Opportunity Fund. Maclin said that the fund will be open to receive donations from all friends of the Republic workers and supporters of their struggle.
Rosen introduced U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, praising the congressman for his tireless work in behalf of the Republic workers and indispensible role in bringing about the settlement. Gutierrez spoke at some length, and then introduced David Rudis, Illinois State President, Bank of America.
This is Winston Smith - fight Big Brother before it's too late, please
For photos of today's solidarity rally outside of Bank of America's main branch, go here: http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/84970/index.php
Thanks, nice pictures.
Indymedia is a great resource. Hopefully we can soon revive Indymedia Pittsburgh from it's current moribund state.
---USAn---
And if the strikes don't work, we can follow the example of those young Greeks!
of course it is a near impossibility and highly improbably if EVER even remotely possible........
but imagine if ALL people in america UPPED and WENT for days on end and NOTHING works...after they hoarded enough to last weeks - AND also did MASS, COUNTRYWIDE, big and small institutions, villages and cities alike...........
REFUSED to COOPERATE with the MASTERS?...........
it would once and for all force these masters on their KNEES!!! what's ONE million man military force , or several million man police forces, guardsmen, private armies going to do against the rest of 300 million people at the 'gates'?
SHOOT THEM> BOMB THEM? TASER THEM? CHAIN THEM? THREATEN TO ARREST THEM and PUT THEM IN JAIL, TORTURE THEM? BRING SUMMONSES to COURTS?.STRIKE the "fear of the law" UPON THEM?> who's going to ORDER THEM to Intimidate a MASS of america gotten sick and TIRED of THEM and their power games? george bush? obama? pelosi? the pentagon generals? the CIA, FBI,? the CORPORATE BOSSES? the PUNDITS on TV and RADIO ? the RICH FAMILIES? the BANKERS? WHOM THEY PROTECT?
what are ALL of THESE MASTERS and their ENABLERS and PROTECTORS of their "law and order" DO against nearly 300 million people SURROUNDING THEM --- with the power to overhwelm them ?
roflmaoooooooo!!!
This episode should serve as primer for labor's partisans. Be aware of the PR aspect of any situation and play it to the hilt. The workers did so and got temporary relief due to them under the law. They were also lucky that B of A has a small regard for negative publicity.
www.wunderman-comics.com
UNITED WE STAND! DIVIDED WE FALL!
These unionists have shown the way. There is more to push for. For example, how about as part of the giveaway legislation the regulators finding out every financial institution that is getting any of this give away money and retroactively limiting all salaries, bonuses, etc. (total compensation) over the past four years to $1 million annually for C.E.O.s, $750,000 annually for second tier and $250,000 annually for third tier. All of the rest must be repaid and put into a fund for people who are losing their jobs as a result of the financial calamity their companies caused.
Take that guy from Merrill-Lynch who wanted his $10 million bonus even though his company received a giveaway. If he only received $1 million while the other $9 million is put in a fund, it would have afforded those 200 workers at Republic $40,000 per head in severance -- not enough, but something. Bob Rubin's $115,000,000 for driving Citigroup broke could be reduced by $114,000,000 and put into that fund.
That won't fix the problem. But in tough times, every little bit helps.
The wife of the owner of Republic bought a parallel facility in Iowa and has apparently moved some of the machinery there on a weekend when the workers were not in the plant.
There was a real expectation that additional equipment might disappear if the workers just left. BoA must know about this and not called the loans to take possession of the factory, stop it's flight to Iowa, and make sure that the Illinois liabilities are all paid. In other words BoA is supporting Republic in breaking federal and state laws, ripping off creditors (employees) and conspiring to bust the union.
See Democracy Now for more and better info.
shakker,
You're correct in reporting on this shameful action by Republic Window and Doors to break the union by renaming itself "Echo Window and Doors" and reopening in Red Oak, Iowa. And it appears that Bank of America financed this sabotage of the Chicago union plant.
What a gift we receive from Corporate America and Bank of America, just before Christmas! Somehow it doesn't quite warm my heart.
This is one helluva message for the working people of America.
The good thing is that these folks got their money. Justice does happen occasionally.
.Maybe small j justice, huh? Accrued vacation and earned sick leave and no job ...Merry Christmas. Over one million Americans laid off this year, and counting. Thanks Georgie, thanks much.
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
Yes it is a small j justice, but considering whats coming, I'll take anything over nothing.
Yes, thanks Georgie..... and though I do have the Christmas spirit, I hope that when they move into their new home in North Dallas that his wiring goes bad, his A/C units break down on the hottest day in summer, his roof leaks and he forgot to pay the insurance, his cars are stolen, his maid short sheets them, his swimming pool goes dry, his TV breaks just as the Cowboy game is coming on and he catches poison ivy in the back yard.
Thanks, I feel a lot better.
.Nowhere near enough....Any retribution not involving bars on the windows and a roomie named Bubba is simply a lack of justice.
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
ardee
"bars on the windows and a roomie named Bubba is simply a lack of justice."
That conjures up a very satisfying picture. Thanks for the Christmas present!
GWBush meeting in a room with the wealthiest bankers: "Here we have the haves and the have-mores. I call you my base."
If one of Obama's plans to revive the economy, is to have a massive program to make homes, commercial and government buildings, more energy efficient, then wouldn't companies that make doors and windows be a lucrative investment?
"There was no question of offering a loan large enough to reopen the factory,"
Why not? Why not sell the company to the Workers for a dollar, let them reopen it? Wouldn't that be better for everyone than closing down and paying a measly severance?
Or did Republic close this plant to open another one in some country that allows them to beat their slav.. workers? It seems to me that when a company drops it's value to zero, to where it closes it's doors and lets go the lease, it might as well give the business to the people that work there, intact, to see if they can make a go of it. If they were any good, some of the Management might even get rehired.
A couple weeks ago, GM's stock dropped to less than a penny, you could have bought controlling interest for a couple hundred thousand dollars. UAW missed the chance to really shake things up.
They might sell them the company name for a dollar, but the physical assets (machines, buildings, etc...) will belong to the creditors. As far as GM's stock dropping to penny status, that's great, but somebody has to be willing to sell it at that price and few would have been. They would have sat on it and waited for it to come back up. That building and all the machines in it are probably part of the collateral on the loan to pay the workers and when the company can't pay it back, the bank will seize it.
This is what you get when you have a class conscious union as opposed to a "business union" that partners with management. Fight on! The struggle continues.
endCapitalism
Too right. And hooray for these small unions that care for their members and to hell with the big ones like the AFL-CIO that betray theirs.
nwfisher
I believe you are correct about why BA paid up.
No, it's what you get when a company (BoA) makes a corporate decision that's better in a given case to pay the extortion money rather that spend a greater amount on public relations to repair the "damage".
Extortion money my ass! The company, Republic, was required by law to give sixty days notice before closing and locking out the workers. Many of them are owed money by the company that was not paid before the lockout. The workers are OWED these funds.
-- EKATON --
Yes, they are, by Republic. BoA has been blackmailed into extending a loan to a company that is a horrible credit risk (Republic) for purely PR reasons.
.This company is not what you claim it to be, where do you get your information? They are still in business in a new plant in a more rural American area! Federal law requires sixty day notice when closing a plant with a work force this large. BoA was just given billions of our tax dollars, what the hell was it for if not to spend on such as this?
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
"a company that is a horrible credit risk (Republic)"
We remain at odds over this. How do you know they are a horrible credit risk? Have they ever defaulted on a loan from B of A? Have they ever defaulted on any loan from any source? Yes, they had used up their initial $5 million credit line. So what? What is their credit score? I don't know, but presumably you do, as you have stated that they are a horrible credit risk.
-- EKATON --
Our we ready for a general strike yet!?
I hope that when these banks receive their next bailout, they actually use it in a way that benefits the people. Bank of America needs to remember that there business is the people.
you are not a person
This would be a perfect time for people all over the country to get behind those stranded workers and prove to these corporations how much more powerful than they the real people are.
Taking SIDES. It was Obama. Corporate America is still ashiver with shock and awe @ where he so quietly, but unspinnably, chose to Stand. Think about it. It's his single most salient step in the only right direction: LEFT. WITH labor. A Presidential Eagle has Landed. Compare the opposite: that grotesquely overrated, vapid full-service Toady of staus quo wealth, Reagan, busting the Air Traffic Controllers Union.
http://flickr.com/photos/tkcs/2926251540/in/pool-828437@N25
The Banks are the real rulers of our country. Who got "bailed out" not questions asked, no strings? BOA is a Rockefeller bank. As is Bank of NY, JP Morgon, and Chase, which bought WaMu. Debt keeps us in slavery.
Silence is Consent.
If I had my money in B of A, I would have already closed my accounts and put my money in a small town family owned bank, or in a sock. Those bloated banks are nothing without WE THE PEOPLE! regardless of how many others they gobble up.
Screw BOA and Republic Windows and Doors for putting these people through this. Solidarity and all of that good stuff. I’m hoping they get all they deserve including the forty or so workers that did not sit in for whatever reasons.
.Today on NPR they reported that this company has opened another plant in a more rural American site and may simply be attempting to make BoA the culprit.
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
I'm not sure if it's just the bank, the company and the forty sit-outs you're hoping get what they deserve, or everyone including the sit-ins.
Since it was a unionized workforce, I'd say the forty or so workers that didn't join the sit-ins were either conservatives who are against unions and therefore not paying members, or some kind of personal circumstances prevented their sitting in.