Union Leader at Republic Windows: ‘We Don’t Have to Wait Until the Boss Screws Us’
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The power of workers comes through with a union. That’s the message and lesson learned during the successful sit-in by nearly 300 workers at the Republic Windows & Doors plant in Chicago last December.
Workers at Republic made justice happen. After a six-day sit-in at the plant, the workers, members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) Local 1110, faced down the company and one of the nation’s biggest financial institutions. The company announced it was shutting down and that the workers would not receive the severance and accrued vacation pay they were owed (see video).
Bank of America, which received billions in taxpayer bailout funds, cut off the company’s line of credit. Outraged by the move, a coalition of workers, community groups, politicians and religious leaders shamed the bank and company into backing down.
