For the past six days, hundreds of union workers have refused to leave the plant, staging a factory sit-in seldom seen in this country since the 1930s. The workers say they won’t leave until the factory is reopened or they receive severance pay and accrued vacation time. The factory was closed last week after the factory owners said Bank of America cut off the company’s line of credit. On Monday, Governor Blagojevich ordered state agencies to stop doing business with Bank of America until it uses some of its federal bailout money to keep the factory open.
On Tuesday, the Republic Windows & Doors factory won a victory: Bank of America offered loans to the firm to resolve the pay dispute. In a statement, the bank said it was “prepared to provide a limited amount of additional loans to Republic to help fund a comprehensive resolution of Employee Claims.” Labor organizers say the sit-in will continue until a resolution is reached. The factory sit-in has attracted attention and renewed a discussion about the federal government’s bailout of the banking industry. On Sunday, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson met with the laid-off workers.
the plant has become a magnet now for the labor and progressive movement from around the city and actually from the Midwest, as people come to visit and to show support, bring supplies to the workers, food, a truckload on Monday night of toys that were brought for the workers for their children for Christmas.
And it’s gotten enormous attention in the media, both nationwide and here, a sympathetic criticism, for the most part, as—because not only Bank of America, but also JPMorgan Chase—it hasn’t gotten as much attention, but JPMorgan Chase invested several million dollars in the plant in early 2007 and actually had a member on the board of directors until just this past summer. So two of the major banks that have benefited from the federal bailout have been—have connections and involvement with this plant.
Raul Flores said:
When we get out of the work on Friday, we went home. When we came back on Monday, one whole line of production was gone. All the machines, everything was gone. So we said, if this time we get out of the building, on Monday, when we come to pick up our checks, nothing’s going to be here.
they just told us last Tuesday that they will now shut down the company. And on Friday, when we got there, they just told us that there were no money for us, that our vacation that we already earned, that we’re not going to get paid for that. So we said, “That’s our money. We already worked for that money. They still owe us a week of work.” So we decided to stay, because we say, “That’s our money. We worked for that money. We’re here to make our jobs. We’re not going to steal nothing from nobody. We’re just here to work.”
one of the great things about this struggle is how people all over the country have taken it on as their own. And so, the entire labor movement here in Chicago organized a protest for today at noon downtown, outside of the bank. There’s another protest—there are other protests around the country happening, as well.
– from democracynow. 10 Dec 2008.