Workers at Republic Windows continue sit-in after company closes:
Carrying signs that read "Bank of America: Don't Steal Christmas," workers at a North Side manufacturer continued their protest Saturday after the company shut its doors on three days' notice because the bank canceled its line of credit.
Republic Windows & Doors closed Friday after being in business since 1965. Members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers, which represents 260 workers at the company's Goose Island plant, have taken shifts at a sit-in at the plant, 1333 N. Hickory Ave., since Friday.
The union said the bank is not letting the company pay workers their vacation and severance pay. In addition, the union said they were not given 60 days' notice of a mass layoff, as required by federal law.
"They're throwing people out on the street with three days' notice, penniless," said Leah Fried, an organizer with United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers.
The company told employees Tuesday that its main lender, Bank of America, had canceled its line of credit because of a severe downturn in business at the plant.
Sadly as the economy turns worse we're likely to see more of these sorts of stories. Someone tell me again what all of those billions of dollars that went to the banks were supposed to be for again?
