Hundreds of laid-off factory workers are organized and protesting in Chicago. They have occupied the Republic Windows and Doors factory where they worked and plan to remain there until they receive what’s theirs–vacation and severance pay.
Union leaders say the company failed to give workers the 60 days’ notice required by federal law, and that its bank, Bank of America, barred Republic from paying for the 60-day period or for vacations. The leaders also criticized a Wall Street bailout they say is leaving laborers behind.
“We’re doing something we haven’t done since the 1930s, so we’re trying to make it work,” declared Leah Fried, an organizer with the United Electrical Workers.
From the New York Times:
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said from the shuttered plant that he would talk to fellow senators about reminding banks that taxpayer dollars are not for dividends or executive salaries.
”We have been sending billions of dollars to banks like Bank of America and the reason we have sent them the money is to tell them that they had to loan this money out to companies just like Republic so that we can keep these companies in business and not lose these jobs here in the United States,” he said.
The governor, meanwhile, said the state plans to pursue a court injunction Tuesday to make sure federal law is followed in giving workers benefits. And state Attorney General Lisa Madigan was investigating the company.
Nezua at The Unapologetic Mexican writes a little about “how this type of strike has long been a function of Latin American worker solidarity” and also points out some of the ways that The New York Times coverage of the story quietly continues to change (their first on-line publication noted that “Most of the factory’s workers are Hispanic.”) Hmm.
In a positive turn of events, Obama has expressed support for the workers.
Posted under Economy, Politics
This post was written by Emily on December 8, 2008
The militancy of the sit-down strike has been a part of Latin American labor movement, but it extends beyond that to the 1900s in the U.S. This tactic has some of its most memorable roots in the Flint Sit-Down Strike in the 1930s. Seeing this sort of labor tactic is a very good indication of the liveliness and boldness of today’s labor movement. Let’s hope this is just the beginning.
On the other hand, whereas the Flint Strike was declared illegal, this strike seems to be a case of the workers simply trying to enforce existing laws (re: 60 day rule, etc.), while politicians merely offer praise.
It also comes as no surprise that the union behind the strike is United Electrical (the UE), one of the most progressive and democratic unions in the U.S. The UE survived the Red Scare in the 1940s/50s, after being attacked not only by institutions like the House Un-American Activities Committee, but also by other unions (like the UAW and the Steelworkers). Other unions in the country would do well to follow the UE’s example.