Angry Laid-off workers occupy Factory in Chicago.

[sarcasmo]

Source: AP

200 Angry laid off factory workers have occupied a Chicago factory and are demanding they get their severance. Republic windows is the name of the company.


Is it the start of the Revolution?

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ildwrFjwHYjvJPX2edZgBnNb8EEQD94TAHM82

[navarth]

1. WOW.

Go Workers!!!!

I was let go from my job a few months ago, along with about 10 other people. Cheated out of 2 weeks vacation, severance.

There's change in the wind. I hope not to many people get hurt.

[sarcasmo]

2. I know, isn't it nice to see people finally taking a stand.

[Acadia Blue]

103. Its about time. Trickle down really meant flow up fast. Wake up

middle class and working class.............they want to make you a peasant.

[Anywho6]

8. Sorry to hear that you lost your job

I got laid off in July and I'm still looking. I believe that, by law, you have to be paid your accrued vacation time. Please check with your state labor board.

Take care and good luck!

[OwnedByFerrets]

41. I agree about checking with the labor board, however, cuts by this admin

has made it near impossible to get the labor board to do anything at all, much less in a timely manner.

[Ms. Toad]

51. Actually, what you are entitled to

it is usually determined by contract, and far too many people are working without a contract in at will employment states (meaning they can be terminated at will for any or no reason).

There may be some states where employees have more rights - but that is not the norm.

[liberalhistorian]

60. No kidding. I'm in my forties with a college degree and I've

never had a job where I had a contract, ever. They've all been at-will. Few employees really have contracts anymore, which is total bullshit.

[surfinshell]

151. CA is a state like that

you can be fired for any reason or no reason.

[superconnected]

163. So is Washington State.

[Alameda]

128. Accrued vacation time must be paid. At least in most states.

Some companies limit the amount of vacation time that can be accrued with a use it or loose it clause. Not paying these workers for their vacation time is tantamount to stealing.

[jetphixer]

14. Workers

Im thinking the mgt was Repb they made off with the $'s so they can be sure to contribute to the watch putie watch Sara in her shower That is repb thinking . All in all tho i am glad to see us taking back our nation. I am rely at a loss to come up with anything that bozo bush has done. What a POX on the USA. this was worse than small pox. Wen does this man get committed to the insane Ward or the booby hatch????

[backwoodsbob]

37. English please

[greguganus]

75. Ditto. n/t

[AlbertCat]

120. This from someone with "sais" in their tag line!

I understood the post....even if it wasn't perfect English.

And I do go off from time to time on grammar...my pet peeves being "to", "too", and "two", "there", "their" and "they're", "Your", "you're" and "yore". But, y'know...typos happen. Still...in your tag line???

[ohio2007]

3. Who's their congressman ?

Maybe a bail out plan could be knocking on the door.

[sarcasmo]

4. No bailout, they shower after work.

[senseandsensibility]

7. Ed Shultz has been using that phrase for years now

but I've been hearing it all over the corporate news the past few days. Very appropriate for these times.

[sarcasmo]

9. I think it hits the nail on the head.

[bluecollarcharlie]

159. And auto workers don't??

[maryf]

58. Luis Gutieriez, on video newscast at this link

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/republic-windows-job-cuts-protest.html

[senseandsensibility]

5. A union representative for electrical workers is speaking for

the workers. I hope they are unionized.

[sarcasmo]

12. I have been checking all over cable and imagine, MSM isn't covering this story.

[senseandsensibility]

16. Not surprising

I'm sure they're looking for the angle that makes the workers look bad, and until they find it the whole thing will be ignored.:-(

[Hannah Bell]

43. it's a union action, from what i've read. not spontaneous, but organized.

[balantz]

6. This looks like a job

for BLACKWATER

[Peggy Day]

56. yea, I was wondering when they start the police state!

[Uben]

10. I understand their frustration, but.....

....as long as they occupy the plant, it cannot be sold to raise funds for them to get paid. The banks are not to be expected to loan a company in default the funds to pay their workers without any real asset forfeiture or collateral. They (the workers)should be getting a lien against the sale of any assets by the company. That is the only way they will ever get paid. You can bet the banks will be doing everything possible to protect their interests.

[clear eye]

48. If the law were enforced they'd get paid.

Business bankruptcy law says workers have first dibs on anything left, before any other creditors, for back pay including accrued vacation. There are always some things of value left like equipment, leftover inventory, their building, etc. I don't think severence agreements have to be honored. With a Bush Dept. of Labor, who knows whether they'll get what they're owed?

I don't see the down side to occupying the building--there's nothing to stop an agreement as to what % of assets will go to the workers before things are actually sold. I'm sure the union is handling the legal end of things, but the occupation can't hurt to make sure the executor doesn't bypass them for more powerful creditors.

[defendandprotect]

52. Sounds like they need some legal representation --

[liberalhistorian]

62. That isn't entirely true. Under the law, salaries

are supposed to be among the first debts paid in these kinds of cases.

[tsuki]

106. The workers had better check to see if their payroll taxes have been paid. nt

[John Q. Citizen]

110. I'm thinking if they sparked like really big rallies and millions took to the streets that

the capitalists would probably be more agreeable. That's how it usually works.

Or perhaps the Treasury Dept will include those workers in the bailout. Lets face it, labor united is to big to fail.

[tomp]

116. that is ONLY how it works. nt

[rhett o rick]

160. Don't think you understand their frustration. They don't want their compensation, they want their

jobs back. Occupying the building will get attention to their plight. BOA took bailout money and bailed. We the people need to speak out against the big corporations that are currently pulling off the biggest heist the world has ever seen. If they are to big to fail, they are to big to save. Let the economy collapse now, not after we give the bastards tens of trillion dollars.

[Odin2005]

11. Holy Shit!!! This sounds like something out of the 1930s!!!

:wow:

Go workers!!! :yourock:

[alcibiades_mystery]

29. Worker plant occupations were common in the 1970's, especially in E urope

20,000 workers shut down the massive Mirafiori Fiat plant in Turin in 1973, for instance. That was a working factory, one of the biggest in Europe.

[clear eye]

49. For the same reason as then--

workers know there's a good chance they won't be able to find full-time jobs to replace the ones they've lost. Their courage is admirable, but I'm not feeling too celebratory about the whole situation.

[AzDar]

13. Good.

:thumbsup:


Let's take our country back one factory at a time, if need be.

[DBoon]

15. how can we support them?

money? moral support?

[sarcasmo]

19. I contacted CNN and told them they need to be covering this story, not that it will help much.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hannah Bell]

17. Republic Windows & Doors to close, union angry

Republic Windows & Doors, once an emblem of corporate expansion on Goose Island, said it must shut down Friday because of inability to get financing.

It said more than 200 jobs will be eliminated. Amy Zimmerman, vice president of sales and marketing at Republic, said the shutdown was forced by Bank of America Corp., which withdrew a credit line because of the manufacturer's declining sales


The decision brought two busloads of Republic's unionized work force to Bank of America's Chicago headquarters, 231 S. La Salle. Members of the United Electrical Workers picketed outside the bank, saying the forced closure violates state law that requires a 60-day notice of mass layoffs.

Union leaders also said Bank of America was barring Republic from paying workers for the 60-day period or for accrued vacations. "It's shameless that this bank, after getting a federal bailout, is throwing them out penniless," said union organizer Leah Fried.

Zimmerman said Republic was the victim of "mismanagement on a grand scale" by prior owners, who ran up debt. The current company president, Rich Gillman, acquired Republic in 2005 and sold its sprawling plant at 1333 N. Hickory to Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for $31 million. Republic continued to occupy most of the space.

Sales have declined from about $75 million a year recently to about $42 million to date in 2008, Zimmerman said. "This was a business decision by the bank and we understand it," Zimmerman said. "We probably could have survived it had we had enough cash on hand."

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1313535,CST-FIN-republic04.article

[DoctorMyEyes]

95. Well that adds another dimension to the story doesn't it?

The wall street fuckers that just stood in line for a bail out are the ones "barring" the company from obeying the state law? WTF?

[antimatter98]

18. Congress doesn't care about working people, only banks and CEOs.

Unless the people, the workers and their families, start to get involved,
we will have more of the same, and Congress will send in the Blackwater guys
before they give an inch to workers, while at the same time, Congress hands out
1/2 the GDP in cash to the financial industry, no business plans asked for, no
accountability asked for or provided. Meanwhile, working Americans are left to
hang out to dry.

It is a class war, and Congress is taking sides as we have seen so far.

[OwnedByFerrets]

42. Just lump it all under white collar....those are who they care about.

[lib2DaBone]

70. Agreed. CONgress is the problem. Bought and paid for...

by the corporations. Sooner or later.. Americans have got to start getting pissed off. (They have been getting pissed on for the last 8 years.)

"Trickle down" is another word the Republicans use for pissing on people.

[rhett o rick]

81. How can we fix a broken Congress? nm

[Sex Pistol]

117. By hiring 30,001 lobbyists...? Then you'd have 1 more than the special interests.

:shrug:

[lowclass]

82. Another Chance

The people of this country have again another chance to use their voice this upcoming week with the the congress and their new p-elect. NATIONALIZE the auto industry should be the call to congress and both administrations.Storm the fortress with emails and calls.

The fight continues us or them!

[Jambalaya]

97. Dirty Ring Around the WHITE Collar

I have expressed the SAME sentiment,almost word for word.THIS IS CLASS WARFARE,FOLKS.I dpn't know if those here recall, but when the bailout first was announced, it was only a five page document by Paulson,and represented by the WH Deputy Press Secretary as requiring no more than an aftemoon's review by Congress !Folks, the hubris was astonishing . AIG and CITIBANK was not publicly lynched,drawn,and quartered,unlike Detroit, because these are the institutions of choice that are the gatekeepers for the shadow banking systems -for the less than ethical and legal transactions of the world's movers ansd shakers.The pattern of the current economic meltdown is a repeat of the BCCI and S&L scandals of the late '80's ,experienced during another Bush imperium, Poppy Bush. This was the era of Milken and junk bonds-and also when the Saudis bought massive blocks of Citicorp for pennies on the dollar. Siverado ,another Neal Bush enterprise cost billions-as did the Keating five affair.And look at who,what,when where and why we are in this present position,today. It's deja vu all over again-and the same usual suspects. Every time a Bush is in office, the economy gets looted just before they leave office.... To learn about the history of AIG,and the depth and breadth of the global offshoring of taxes,go to Lucy Komisar's website. She has done seminal work on these matters for years,now.You're only disappointment will be in NOT reviewing her valuable insights.

[Amonester]

112. Paragraphs, please.

Thank you. And welcome to DU.

(Now I'll go try to edit your post in an editor and add paragraphs so I can read it.)

[sce56]

131. Oh No the Writing Police are staking out DU!

I had no problem with the post at all! Are we supposed to be writing College essays here?

[MrsBrady]

21. K&R 100%

[JVS]

22. Good on them. Let the looting/finding begin!

[Bluzmann57]

83. So you support lawlessness?

What the hell, may as well start shooting as well.
No looting. No matter how one feels, looting is stealing and is illegal. The cvompany is stealing from the workers and the workers are taking a stand. But I bet they aren't stealing anything. If they are, they will completely destroy their case. There will be no sympathy for them. If the workers stay within the law, the public will by and large support them, I believe.

[lowclass]

85. What Law

The law has not prevented the elite from using the politics of murder torture and terrorism over the entire world.
Justice is bought and paid for no money no justice.

[GliderGuider]

23. Aux barricades, mes amis!

Liberté, égalité, fraternité!
A la Bastille!

It's about freakin' time.

[Odin2005]

147. Vive l'Revolution! :-) n/t

[PassingFair]

24. Wow, this looks like a headline about China!

I hope they get their severance pay.

[sarcasmo]

25. CNN Headline news now covering the story.

[Lautremont]

26. This is how Solidarity in Poland started up.

If they continue to have the courage of their convictions, as the Gdansk shipbuilders did, and perhaps a Walesa-style leader with a great walrus mustache, who knows where it could lead!

[alcibiades_mystery]

30. Solidarity trumps leaders

We've had our fill of leaders.

[sarcasmo]

35. Makes me think of a Rage against the Machine song. Take the power back.

[awoke_in_2003]

71. Unfortunately, the only great walrus mustache...

we have is this asshat:

[glowing]

27. And with cell phones, they can call for take out and charge it to the company.. LOL.

They could last for a while and the CEO would be getting a large bill from Dominoes.

[Odin2005]

90. ROFLMAO!!! That would be hillariously sweet!

:rofl:

[PittPoliSci]

28. go get 'em boys!

[Sonicmedusa]

118. And "girls"

Grrrrrrr

[deutsey]

31. "The Take" by Naomi Klein

http://www.thetake.org/index.cfm?page_name=synopsis

In the wake of Argentina's dramatic economic collapse in 2001, Latin America's most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. The Forja auto plant lies dormant until its former employees take action. They're part of a daring new movement of workers who are occupying bankrupt businesses and creating jobs in the ruins of the failed system.

But Freddy, the president of the new worker's co-operative, and Lalo, the political powerhouse from the Movement of Recovered Companies, know that their success is far from secure. Like every workplace occupation, they have to run the gauntlet of courts, cops and politicians who can either give their project legal protection or violently evict them from the factory.

[wundermaus]

158. The Take - view it on line -

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8149373547373833649

[Better Believe It]

32. Workers Given Loans To Purchase And Run Bankrupt Companies In Venezuela!

Check out this article at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=4586557

[Better Believe It]

33. K & R

[madrchsod]

34. the company could`t get a line of credit to operate

their business has fallen off but they still were in decent shape. the new owner bought the business from someone who "cooked the books". whether or not this is a factor this owner had nothing to do with the previous owner.

this is the very people the banks were supposed to help but they only helped themselves.

[bertman]

99. madrschsod, where did you get your information? I'd like to see what the circumstances are.

[TomClash]

36. K & R

Good for them. The Illinois Department of Labor should support them NOW!

If there is a strikers' fund, I'm in.

[bertman]

38. I'd like to hear more details about this shutdown before I form an opinion about who is

right and who is wrong.

On the one hand, you would think that the owners would know a few weeks in advance if they were in so much financial distress that they were going to have to close the doors, laying off hundreds of workers.

On the other hand, they may have waited until the last possible minute because they were hoping for an uptick in sales due to all of the money our government has been POURING into the financial sector hole. Being in the building business myself I know that many contractors are in dire straits but are hoping, hoping, hoping that the money will start to flow again and people will again buy homes.

Either way, it seems the owners should have had a better handle on the financial status of the company. It will be interesting to see what kind of serverance packages the upper level excecutives and management types got when this went down. If everyone took a big hit along with a lost job then I will feel more charitable toward the owners. If they grabbed the cash reserves and ran, without giving their employees severance pay, my opinion will be very very low.

Before we assume that the workers should vacate the plant because it can't be sold with them there, consider that there is likely to be no market for this business given the state of the housing industry and the economy in general.

madrchsod, where did you get your information about the previous owner?

[Name removed]

91. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

98. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sarcasmo]

122. Bank of America called in their line of credit and if you can't pay it they shut you down.

We have had two or three companies shut down here in West Michigan due to getting their line of credit called in.

[tekisui]

135. The Workers are always right.

[Zhade]

152. My son's mother got laid off with ZERO NOTICE.

This is not uncommon.

[Coexist]

39. Yahoo has it - Buzz it up!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081206/ap_on_re_us/workers_takeover_3

[defendandprotect]

55. This is Capitalism's triumph -- if you can't kill the unions --

you can count on them destroying the economy --

My heart is with the workers

[anonymous171]

40. Wasn't this kind of thing happening back when FDR was elected as well?

Farmers storming courthouses, worker revolts, etc.

[pjt7]

44. B of A has some 'splanin to do

[McCamy Taylor]

46. Barely. That was a different world. People felt ASHAMED of being unemployed back then.

If you read Studs Terkel's "Hard Times" there are two messages. During the Depression, people felt guilty or ashamed at their own misfortune. And the same people, looking at modern America, believe that if another Great Depression were to happen, the United States would not quietly accept it as it did in the 1930s. People are not accepting of misfortune as they were back then. If we get to another Great Depression, the people in the book believed that there would be a workers' revolution.

[IndianaGreen]

45. Our working class is confused and divided, and they lack class consciousness

as evidenced by their voting against their class interests over many decades. There is no revolutionary vanguard to radicalize and instill discipline among the ranks of working men and women. However, these United Electrical Workers union activists have the right idea, that workers can liberate their factories from the owners (as workers have done in Venezuela). If the workers can be organized, they can run a factory. If they can run a factory, they can run a country.

[McCamy Taylor]

47. With the internet in almost every home, they can get class consciousness REAL QUICK.

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[2QT2BSTR8]

50. And where is the MSM at during this? Running this lead story...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/05/unemployed.sign/index.html

[Vidar]

53. A 21 gun salute & several choruses of "We Shall Overcome to the courageous workers!

[RetroLounge]

54. Tribune has this story now

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/republic-windows-job-cuts-protest.html

of coure, it's just an AP copy. You think they could report on it themselves?

********************

Republic Windows & Doors shut its doors Friday, but more than 200 workers reportedly refused to leave the North Side manufacturer, demanding assurances they'll get severance and vacation pay that they say they are owed.

Some of the former employees, who said they found out they lost their jobs three days before the plant was shut down, said they learned they would not get previously earned vacation pay or insurance coverage as promised. They have been occupying the plant in shifts.

Today, about 50 workers could be seen through a window sitting on chairs and pallets on the factory floor. Reporters were asked to stay out of the plant's work area.

"We're going to stay here until we win justice," said Blanca Funes, 55, of Chicago, after occupying the building for several hours. Speaking in Spanish, Funes said she fears losing her home without the wages she feels she's owed. A 13-year employee of Republic, she estimated her family can make do for three months without her paycheck. Most of the factory's workers are Hispanic.

Leah Fried, an organizer with the United Electrical Workers, says Republic failed to give 60 days' notice required by law, The Associated Press reported. Workers also were angered when company officials didn't show up for a meeting Friday that had been arranged by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Chicago Democrat, Fried said.

**************

RL

[Ken Burch]

102. If they've done as many layoffs as OTHER big newspapers

They might NOT be able to cover it.

[Better Believe It]

57. You can see a TV news story on this occupation at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x247799

and some additional news stories at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4599743

[dcsmart]

61. WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE

someone had to say it!!! it is always time for revolution. workers need to unionize to protect their rights. All workers. Blue collar and white collar is a capitalist distinction used to separate workers. If you do not own the means of production, you are a worker. Golden Parachutes not included;if you have one you really are not a worker. Remember, blue or white, it is still a collar and someone else has the chain. Support the Employee Free Choice Act
see the following for great information:

http://timetofight.tumblr.com/


http://combat.tumblr.com/

Also see info about Single Payer Health Care. To really get a good idea about what socialism is see this web site: ttp://www.slp.org/
it really provides some instructive ideas about socialism. See the Socialist News World Wide site (above) for excellent news sources from a worker's perspective, which is the heart of Socialism. See also, Democratic Socialist of America. http://www.dsausa.org/dsa.html
They work within the Democratic Party.

To all workers: Keep up your spirits, unionize when you can, and keep fighting for your rights to employment and liberty. To un-employee people is a crime: it threatens their right to life and their ability to sustain their life and that of their family.

[Cal Carpenter]

66. Welcome to DU dcsmart!

From another newbie who agrees with you wholeheartedly :fistbump:

[santamargarita]

63. I hope so...I'm so fucking sick of this goddamn Bush, GOP, economy

Jesus Christ, I hate the fucking people!

[phillysuse]

64. "I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, Alive as you and me"

Says I but Joe you're 10 times dead.

I NEVER DIED SAYS HE!!!!!

I NEVER DIED SAYS HE!!!!!!!!

[clear eye]

86. Aww. You actually made me cry.

We can only hope this is the start of something bigger. And that the Dems can be returned to us working folk.

[eridani]

104. Solidarity forever!

Solidarity forever
Solidarity forever
For the union makes us strong!

[Odin2005]

148. ORGANIZE, dammit,, ORGANIZE!!! n/t

[shoppertunist]

65. ,

[BrklynLiberal]

67. The time for torches and pitchforks is upon us..

[Better Believe It]

68. Vigil Planned For Tomorrow In Support Of Workers

A prayer vigil has been planned for 12:00 Noon tomorrow. Please attend. BUT WE SHOULD ORGANIZE A CONSTANT PRESENCE OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS PICKETING OUTSIDE THE FACTORY! BRING FOOD AND COFFEE FOR THE WORKERS. It is our presence and the press that is the workers best defense against the police raiding the factory.

These workers are fighting for all of us!!! As the economic crisis deepens we need to launch a working class fight back. These workers are the starting point and deserve our full support.

Go to:

Republic Windows & Doors
1333 N. Hickory
On Goose Island, near the intersection of Division & Clyborn

Feel free to call me for more info… [phone] - Jerry Mead-Lucero
< pilsenprole.blogspot.com/ >

[Better Believe It]

69. Hold Bank of America Accountable: How You Can Help

Hold Bank of America Accountable

Only weeks after taking $25 Billion in bailout money, Bank of America is turning its back on hundreds of workers making energy efficient doors and windows in Chicago by refusing to continue credit to Republic Windows and Doors. To make matters even worse than putting 300 people out of work, Bank of America has instructed Republic to refuse to pay workers compensation they are legally entitled to, either earned vacation pay or the severance pay legally required under the WARN Act, in lieu of proper notice of plant closing.

Like many other 'titans of Wall street,' Bank of America, Key Bank and others are taking their bailout -- supposedly meant to allow credit to get our economy moving again -- and using it to take over other banks, pay bonuses to executives and dividends to shareholders... just about everything except helping businesses continue to employ workers.

Tell Bank of America to either provide the credit needed to keep workers in good green jobs, or at least provide the compensation these workers are entitled to.

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/bankofamerica/

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/bankofamerica/explanation

------------------------------------

UE Members in Chicago Need Our Help!

UE Local 1110 members in Chicago who work at Republic Windows and Doors, are now engaged in a battle with their employer as well as the giant Bank of America. The bank -- which has already been given $25 billion dollars in taxpayer bailout monies -- is refusing to extend credit to the company. The national Jobs with Justice coalition has taken up the fight on behalf of these UE members, launching a campaign to expose the shameful behavior by Bank of America -- as well as the many other outrages of the government bailout.

Do your part today to support these fellow workers and push back against the Wall Street and big bank rip-off of taxpayers. Please participate in the Jobs with Justice Week of Action for a People's Bailout Now! To lend a hand please visit the main Jobs with Justice page.

http://www.ueunion.org/ueactionupdates.html?news=425

[Ken Burch]

72. I wish Studs had lived to see this.

It's time for the great fight-back.

Let's hope this spreads.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

73. No editorial comments there(headline).

:eyes:

[olegramps]

74. The Chicago Cops will handle it real nice.

They have a lot of experience beating the crap out of anyone who is a Democrat. The pigs will be out in force.

[wundermaus]

76. Thank you, President (Emperor) Bush for suspending

posse comitatus -

Now those 200 socialist workers will find out what a soviet style gulag is really like!

Don't phuck with phascists!

:sarcasm:

[cascadiance]

77. This sounds like Argentina now... For a good film on this topic watch "The Take"!

Argentinians had a loophole in their laws that would allow workers or other members of a corporation to "occupy", take over and restart operations of a factory that had been shut down, if they could show that the owner(s) illegally tried to make off with or sell assets of such companies when they were supposed to be under bankruptcy.

Go here... Naomi Klein and her husband do a bang up job making this film back before she became a well known voice for us as a commentator, when Mennen fell out of power.

http://www.thetake.org/

[yorgatron]

79. did anyone else read the astoundingly stupid anti-union comments?

http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/1:y_news:b097d7358b0dd9c98e03984f91bc25bf

[judasdisney]

84. DVD Amazon link

http://www.amazon.com/Take-Naomi-Klein/dp/B000CCD1X4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1228608600&sr=1-1

Buy a used copy if you can't afford a new one

[clear eye]

92. We have an organization in the U.S.,

the Steel Valley Authority, http://www.steelvalley.org/main.asp?ID=14 , that includes occasionally helping create worker-owned enterprises when a company closes without a buyer. This, and its two offspring, the Regional Jobs Corporation and the Heartland Fund are really quite marvelous, effective groups. Under the leadership of their seemingly tireless director, Tom Croft, they started in Pennsylvania and expanded into other areas of the Rust Belt. They created a new template of taking action to prevent the loss of jobs before factories actually close by finding funding from union pension funds and private sources, and of bringing representatives of all players to the table to hash out solutions. So ideas on how to economize operations or improve the product line, that employees may have had but were shot down by management, can be heard. And community job training groups with grants can help to retrain workers if the jobs in the company change in some way. And "green" economists can input how to make operations more energy efficient and less polluting. Basically they are on a mission to do whatever it takes, and look around for whatever resources are needed.

The Heartland Fund has also stimulated community revitalization, creating many construction jobs in the process.

I plan to write a full article on Croft and the SVA soon, but in the meantime it would be wonderful if DUers could go to Obama's change site to ask that his "seat at the table" people get input from the SVA. The page to make suggestions is here: http://change.gov/page/s/seattable .

If anyone by any chance is reading this who has an "in" w/ Obama's transition team, they could do no better than to tap Tom Croft for Secretary of Labor, or for a high post under Bill Richardson in the Dept. of Commerce. He would make every penny the Obama administration slates for job creation work like two.

[truedelphi]

137. Wouldn't it be great if Obama woke up and got rid of Geithner, Rubin &

Put in Tom Croft instead?

An economy baseed on the ill-conceived notions of the merger acquisition, SIV credit default concepts rather than on production and local jobs is no economy at all. And it made sense to cater to the 1% elite when it was their capital that built the factories and supplied the banks with cash gflow. But now that it is OUR DIME doing that, why do we need Geithner, Summers, and Rubin??

[clear eye]

150. Good point. n/t

[20score]

78. Damn good for them. Nice to see people stand up for themselves.

K&R

[rhett o rick]

80. This is what Bushy has been praying for. Now he can use his interment camps and his storm troopers,

maybe declare martial law, just for a short term (wink).

[exman]

113. I can see it now..

Simply infiltrate peaceful demonstrators with agents to commit violent acts .Blame it on "socialist, commie, unions". send in troops.Posse Comitatus already suspended, Fascists good to go. no sweat.:banghead:

[rhett o rick]

132. I have expected just that before now. It would be so easy. But I think they would have done it

at the republican convention if they were going to do it.

[McCamy Taylor]

87. Tying it to the bailout in the Detrout Free Press. “You got bailed out. We got sold out.”

Bank of America got $25 Billion bailout but will not let the employer give the employees their 60 days severance as required by law.

I say let Congress take it out of Bank of America's bailout.

http://www.freep.com/article/20081206/NEWS07/81206030

[OhioChick]

88. Good for them.

Hopefully, we'll see more of this.

[dcsmart]

89. WORKER NEWS AND BANK OF AMERICA

More info about workers in Chicago and a way to send protest letter:

http://socialistworker.org/2008/12/06/republic-window-occupation


Jobs With Justice protest letter

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/bankofamerica/

Solidarity with all workers.

[PfcHammer]

93. That's what I'm talking about. U.S. Americans should've been doing this

for the past 30 years instead of watching teevee and
eating junk food.

[PatrynXX]

94. different laws

?

failed to give 60 days notice

Didn't happen at our paper in Iowa so I assume we don't have such rights.

Now I was part time so I wasn't a union employee, but the full time workers were. part of the teamsters I believe. They found out the same day we did.. severance sucked though. Gotten bigger paychecks than that..

[cyclezealot]

96. Anyone who thinks Americans during the Great Depresssion

were well mannered, don't know their history.. And, today, we are better armed.. Hope it does not get much worse..

[Odin2005]

101. The "Greatest Generation" that the Boomers attacked as being conformists were actually...

...the most radical generation America had since the American Revolution. Huge numbers of that generation were radical leftists, it's just that most became afraid of expressing their radicalism after McCarthy, giving their Boomer children the notion that they were a bunch of conformist squares. I wouldn't be surprised if my "Millennial" generation experiences the same thing, my generation's left-wing bent and support for Obama is very similar to the Greatest Generation and their 86% support for FDR.

[GrantDem]

100. Power to the workers!!!

[wundermaus]

105. wouldn't this be a good time...

for the employees to offer to buy the company and own it them selves? I'll bet the price is right and the bank would be more than happy to finance the terms of the loan...

[davidthegnome]

107. Hell yeah

Up the revolution. All your factories are belong to us. Seriously, if we, the American people, had any balls, we would have done a whole lot of this shit a long damn time ago. Let this be the spark that lights the bonfire, let the whole Country get pissed off, come together, demand changes and demand answers and demand accountability.

[judasdisney]

108. America's Last Stand

"Republic Windows Co." -- symbolic

[davidthegnome]

109. The real question is...

Why the hell has it taken so long? And will it take longer still for the rest of us to wake up? I wish I could be with those people. I've been unemployed, broke, and uninsured for years, surviving fortunately due to the kindness and love of my parents.

We have to do something to create new jobs here, to stop sending so many of what we have left to other countries. It's time to conserve, and in any event we're paying the piper already.

It's time for a full scale wake up. I've got faith in Obama... but if that turns out to be ill founded and he lets us down... well, if someone forms a real resistance movement I'll be one of the first to join.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

111. The Revolution Starts Now

and it's about freaking time

[ChairmanAgnostic]

114. ONLY 52 recs?

This is but the first of many similar spontaneous labor movements. No wonder Bush issued orders to allow US troops to act within the continental US territory.

[Joanne98]

115. They need to watch this movie. The Take

http://www3.onf.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=51363&v=h&lg=en&exp=$%257bthe%257d%252520AND%252520$%257btake%257d

[wundermaus]

119. here is a link to the whole movie "The Take" on line -

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8149373547373833649

[sarcasmo]

121. Can we make sure Keith and Rachel speak of this a length on Monday.

[Autonomy]

123. We just HAD the revolution

It's called an election. The revolution? Are you fucking kidding?

[sarcasmo]

127. That was no Revolution, that was a vote. The workers will have the Revolution.

[Autonomy]

146. There are no workers in the Marxist sense

That's a false construct.

[rhett o rick]

133. Bless your optimism. But do you really think Obama or anyone can affect the class

problem we have in this country? We have an aristocratic class and they own everything. They control our media and economy and most of our elected officials. For Obama to do anything he will have to have their cooperation.

[Autonomy]

145. You want power and influence

above and beyond the right to vote? Then get rich. There's no revolution coming, friend.

[rhett o rick]

157. When you call me friend, are you being condesending? There will be a revolution. Maybe not for a

while. the middle class still collectively has a lot of money. the capitalists will not rest until the middle class is bled dry. Then there will be revolution. Currently the middle class has too much to lose, but that will last about 1 to 2 years. In south America there have already been revolts by the impoverished when confronted with big corporations trying to squeeze out more from them. Mark my words "friend" there will be a revolution.

[annm4peace]

124. They stand up for all of us.

I hope those in the area bring them food and drinks so they can keep the Vigil.

We are with you workers in spirit.

RNC protesters.

[lovuian]

125. yep

It is the ANGER is so great in the American worker and how screwed they have been by this government

it is absolutely earth changing

[Flagg]

126. That kind of stuff happens every week in France

[carlyhippy]

129. standing up for their rights, good for them

I foresee this occuring more and more in the next year....hope Mr. President Obama can clean up the mess that will be left for him.

[sfnative]

130. Hell Yeah!

Warms my heart to see workers standing up to greedy bosses. If they don't fight for their rights, who will?

[bdamomma]

134. good for those workers who are demanding their severance

pay, enough is enough, if it takes the workers to do something so be it, enough of this abuse. We must take a stand, general strike sounds better each day.

[Tutonic]

136. Bank of America--the same mafia riddled den of vipers that insisted

that Paulson "secretly" provide a billions dollar loan to their fat asses--refuses to provide assistance to this factory. Remember this when that mafia house of cards collapses and thousands of workers are thrown out without pensions. B of A is filled with evil self invested crustaceans. I can't wait for them to fail--and its coming quickly.

[sarcasmo]

140. Closing our account on Monday and putting it all into the Credit Union.

We don't have a lot but it will be something.

[YvonneCa]

138. Obama was just asked about this in his press conference/announcement of Shinseki...

...and he TOTALLY supported the workers to get their severance and benefits to which they are entitled (YAaaaY!). He also broadened his comment to say (paraphrasing) that what these workers are experiencing is what many others around the country have been experiencing...and that his administration will be one that tries to make things better for workers in such circumstances. :)

[maryf]

144. He is still their senator too..

He should be supporting them.

[YvonneCa]

155. True. I had forgotten that. I guess I've just...

...been overcome by the whole 'President- Elect Obama' thing. It sounds SO good. :)

[sarcasmo]

153. We have the right person coming in as President in this chapter in our country.

If Bush were the new President this country would be finished.

[YvonneCa]

154. We do. That's the one thing that gives me...

...hope. :)

[babydollhead]

139. here is their spokesperson's contact info...

Mailing Address:
UE Local 1159
c/o UE District 11
Attn: Field Org. Leah Fried
37 South Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60607

Phone:
312-829-8300

Email:
[e-mail]

[Name removed]

141. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[greengestalt]

142. Might be time for Revolution

A lot depends on Obama.


If he ends up "Cartered" where he's hamstrung by not just the right but his own party, or if worse he turns into a sell-out who's "Bush light pretending to be Clinton" it is time. Our Republic has ended in that case and America no longer exists. Therefore the "Law" is only a bandit with a gun who claims to be the law.


I know better than to openly plot online activities that might be considered "Extralegal". Take heart, though; This country would melt under a popular revolt that attacked the infastructure as much as any political figures and rich elite. The country is nearly bankrupt and further stress will crack it like an eggshell. Just "Assume you are being watched" and take basic precautions on activities. But I don't want to have to do this. I want the public will to succeed in forcing the government to take the most basic measures to let society itself be comfortable, even at the cost of a rich elite pig having to settle with 5 yachts.


Check out a recent FBI thing where they expressed panic over "Copper theft". http://www.fbi.gov/hq/majorthefts/coppertheft_120308b.htm Of course it's their own stupid fault. Worshiping the Ghost of Hoover, they waged Jihad against "The demon weed" for decades and ignored other trends, notably Meth. Meth was 'the working man's drug' and used by people at high labor, often good pay, or multiple jobs outlets. It never hit the "Insurance" issue because by the time the drug started to break them down, they'd been laid off or got fired. They only started cracking down on it when state family services claimed to be overwhelmed with meth related abuse cases. Now with illegals doing the work even cheaper, we have a legion of ex laborers addicted to meth, many with tools and pickup trucks. It's really a logical crime for a "Junkie". If they mugged someone they'd get maybe a hundered or so, very likely get caught and go to jail for 10 years. Similar for burglary for their fence would scalp them for the price. On the other hand, if they steal copper wire it's often a misdemeanor and it feels more like construction work than anything else.


But I hope it doesn't come to this: I hope Obama does manage to turn things around. He's not president yet, mind you. I still think he's playing mildly right to avoid assasination or that "Citizenship" issue lie being used to prevent his swearing in.


We should start with propaganda, (and I mean in RL, not a blog) not violence, for as the social misery grows, the outright blame and hatred of the rich elite will be heard more and more. They won't be envied or looked up to or admired. They will be hated as people who are greedy and if not open devil worshippers, ought to be. I've heard their own propaganda dare us to have a 'revolution' that if we turn things around they'll crawl back to the top... Well, that defines what they mean by revolution. They see the same society, with someone else in charge so they can just sit on usury and kiss up/ kick down their way back up. On the other hand, if we actually change society, one based around sustainability, helping others, free time, etc. they'll be out of luck. A horde of money would just make them look bad, but do little to help them. On the other hand, those that are brilliant, insightful, generous will have respect. We'll work, but to sustain ourselves, save a little for hard times and help our fellow man.

[IndianaGreen]

143. PWW: Workers occupy factory in Chicago

Here is the PWW's take on this story:

Workers occupy factory in Chicago

Author: John Bachtell
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 12/04/08 18:32

CHICAGO — Workers at Republic Windows and Doors in the Goose Island neighborhood began occupying the plant Friday morning Dec. 5 to regain pay for lost vacation days after the plant was abruptly closed.

They plan to continue the occupation until the results of the next round of negotiations with management on Dec. 8 are known.

Bank of America (BA) is chief investor and controls the day-to-day finances of Republic Windows and Doors, a manufacturer for the home construction market. BA refused to extend a line of credit and as a result the company was forced to close its doors December 5. Three hundred workers were thrown onto the street. This action came on the heels of a $25 billion emergency bailout of BA from the federal government.

On Dec. 3 100 Republic Windows workers, their families and supporters picketed BA Chicago headquarters on LaSalle Street. The workers, represented by United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) stretched a city block as they marched beneath the ornate bank columns and carried signs saying, “Billions for BA, $0 for workers” and “You got your bailout, we got sold out.”

According to Armando Robles, a maintenance employee and local union president, “Just weeks before Christmas we are told our factory will close in three days. Taxpayers gave Bank of America billions and they turn around and close our company. We will fight for a bailout for workers.”

The mostly Latino and African American workers are demanding at a minimum, the bank allow the company to pay worker vacation pay and other monies owned under WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act). BA instructed the company not to issue payments. In addition, the union is demanding the company comply with the requirement to give 60 days notice before closure of a workplace or 60 days pay in lieu of notice.

But the union believes the jobs can be saved. The company has said the closure is due to the deepening economic crisis and especially in the housing and construction industry. Orders have plummeted and according to the company, declining revenues would have ended in bankruptcy.

http://pww.org/article/articleview/14091/

[antimatter98]

149. And BOA got a 25 billion dollar bailout from us!!

"After the Bank of America -- a $25-billion recipient of Bailout Czar Hank Paulson's "Wall Street First" largesse -- cut off operating credit to the Republic Windows and Doors company, executives of the firm announced Friday that they were shutting its factory in Chicago. "

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/388449?rel=hp_picks


There is no doubt that there is an anti-worker war going on. Congress supports it, enables it,
and then hands 8 trillion to the banks, and Wall Street, no questions asked.

Congress has put workers on the menu, while the elite sit at the table.

[sarcasmo]

156. New post in General Discussion. Rep Jan Schakowsky visits sit in.

She calls it the "start of a movement"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081208/ap_on_re_us/workers_takeover

[IndianaGreen]

161. Republic Windows and Doors is planning to move its plant to Iowa because of cheaper labor costs

The plant closing was precipitated by Bank of America’s refusal to extend any more credit to the company, despite the fact that B of A has received $25 billion in bailout funds. These billions were supposed to help relieve credit shortages and help sustain jobs. Instead, the banks are using taxpayer dollars to merge into larger banks. Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase are the two banks that invest in Republic Windows and Doors. The workers are owed an average of 75 days’ pay and vacation. Companies are bound by federal law to either give 60 days’ notice with pay, before a plant closing or layoff of 50 or more workers.

It is reported that Republic Windows and Doors is planning to move its plant to Iowa because of cheaper labor costs, and to get out of union obligations with the United Electrical Workers Union. Workers across the country are paying a heavy price for the bank’s and corporations’ theft. It’s time for the bankers and companies to pay, NOT THE WORKERS!

http://www.pephost.org/site/DocServer/Republic_workers_flyer.pdf?docID=6841

[JohnAB]

162. thoughts to ponder

This is something to think about when your in uncertain times, food for thought.

It was the bast of times,it was the worst of times.
It was the age of wisdom,it was the age of foolishness.
It was the epoch of belief,it was the epoch of incerdulity.
It was the season of light,it was the season of Darkness.
It was the spring of hope,it was the winter of despair.
We had everything before us,we Had nothing before us.
We were all going direct to Heaven,
we were all going direct the other way.

a tale of two Cities.
What is poetry?
The feeling of a former world and future world full of hope.
John