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Latest from the Republic Windows workers in Chicago...

Originally From New America Media Thursday, December 11, 2008 : The sit-in by 240 union workers who were abruptly terminated from their jobs at a Chicago window-manufacturing plant last week raises the question of the rights of workers in the midst of a national economic crisis....

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 :For the past six days, hundreds of laid-off union workers have refused to leave the Republic Windows & Doors plant, staging a factory sit-in seldom seen in this country since the 1930s. The factory was closed last week after the factory owners said Bank of America cut off the company’s line of credit. On Tuesday, the workers won a victory: Bank of America offered loans to the firm to resolve the pay dispute. We speak with a factory worker and a union organizer....

The occupation of the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago by some 250 workers entered its fifth day on Monday. On December 2, workers were informed the plant would permanently close in three days and that they would be laid off. Workers are demanding severance and vacation pay as restitution for Republic’s violation of federal law, which stipulates that workers must be given 60 days notice prior to layoffs arising from plant closures. Republic claims that it cannot pay workers becau...

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 : What a difference an election makes. Here's what President-elect Barack Obama has to say about the 250 workers in Chicago who have staged a peaceful sit-in at the factory they worked at after it closed without paying them their salaries. From Bloomberg:...

The corporations got sloppy. From the hedge-fund parasites to the housing market fraudsters, the corporate criminals have shown their hand. Their filthy fingerprints are all over the economic pain blanketing the country and the world....

El viernes unos 300 trabajadores de la fábrica Republic Window & Door de Chicago han ocupado la planta exigiendo el pago de los salarios atrasados e indemnizaciones que debe la empresa. Por primera vez desde el nacimiento de la federación sindical CIO en los años treinta, los trabajadores norteamericanos ocupan su centro de trabajo. Cuando los empresarios presionan para situar la carga del fracaso de la economía sobre los hombros de los trabajadores, la lucha de clases regresa a EEUU....

On December 5, in Chicago, the owners of Republic Windows and Doors were set to close their doors after declaring financial ruin and abruptly laid off its 260 mostly Latino workers. Rather than passively accepting this kick in the teeth, the United Electrical Workers Union (UE) members decided to fight back, using a tactic not seen in this country since the 1930’s. They occupied the factory and have continued to do so in shifts since Friday....

On November 27, three leftist union leaders in the Venezuelan state of Aragua – Richard Gallardo, Luis Hernández and Carlos Requena – were gunned down by an assassin. The murder came hours after the unionists had led a workers occupation of a Colombian-owned milk plant which had been brutally broken up by state police. All three were leaders of the UNT (National Workers Union) and of the USI (Socialist Left Unity), a party which has opposed attempts by the government of Hugo Chávez to impose ...

Thursday, December 4, 2008 :New economic reports show that the severity of the US recession and the speed with which it is developing are greater than anticipated by economists and business forecasters. Data released Wednesday reveal a sharp rise in layoffs in virtually every sector of the economy, continuing distress in credit markets, financial instability and slumping consumer demand....