Chicago, United States, December 8:The laid off factory workers of Republic Windows and Doors have protested against the sudden lay off notice. They are also demanding the payments for earnings during vacation days.
About 250 workers at the company that makes doors and windows said that they had not received any sufficient notice regarding their discharge. They were informed on Tuesday about the sudden plant closing on Friday.
The workers were not even given their earned vacation pay. They said they would not leave without getting answers from the authorities. Company officials told the plant's union that Bank of America, the main lender of the company has withdrawn their financing.
“They’re staying because the fact is that these workers feel they have nothing to lose at this point,” said Leah Fried, an organizer for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 1110, who also said that groups of 30 were occupying the plant in shifts.
“Telling them they have three days before they are out on the street, penniless, is outrageous,” Fried said.
Julie Westermann, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, said, “because of our client confidentiality obligations, we cannot comment on any individual clients’ situations.” But Ms. Westermann noted, “Neither Bank of America nor any other third party lender to the company has the right to control whether the company complies with applicable laws or honors its commitments to its employees.”
Ron Bender, a machine operator in the company, said, “We’re doing this for the other working people in the country; what’s happened to us can happen to anyone - they could just close up and put you out and give you no severance pay."
Apolinar Cabrena, 43, who has spent 17 years of his life in the company, said, "I know the economy is bad, not just for me but for everybody." He added, "I have a lot of hope that next year, with a new president, he'll make good decisions and invest money in industry so I can get another job as soon as possible."
President-elect Barack Obama favored the workers and said at a news conference announcing his new Veterans Affairs director, “When it comes to the situation here in Chicago with the workers who are asking for their benefits and payments they have earned, I think they are absolutely right; What’s happening to them is reflective of what’s happening across this economy.”
The company officials told the union they would meet on Monday afternoon with the union representatives, the bank and U.S. representative Luis Gutierrez to try to hammer out a deal.
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