A little over two years after the Republic Windows and Doors workers in Chicago won back their pay and benefits from the closing company by occupying their Goose Island factory, they are at it again. The workers are occupying the same factory, now owned by Serious Materials, to protest being laid off without notice after the closure of the factory.
Armando Robles, a worker at Serious Materials and president of UE Local 1110, raises his fist inside the occupied factory. Photo by Aaron Cynic.
“We are not leaving until we are satisfied,” Melvin Maclin, a worker at Serious Materials and vice president of UE Local 1110, told the Occupied Chicago Tribune.
Arise Chicago issued an action alert announcing the action:
UE [United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America] union is occupying Serious Materials factory, the former Republic Windows, right now.
They need your help and support!
Please come as soon as you can!
Join UE and Arise Chicago:
1333 N. Hickory Chicago (Division & 3 blocks west of Halsted)
According to organizer and journalist Micah Uetricht, who is updating from a press conference at the scene via Twitter: “[W]orkers were told today it was to be last day of production. Workers demanded chance to find buyer, save jobs… or start worker-owned cooperative. Company said no, so they occupied.”
Pizza was delivered to the occupying workers, but met with some resistance from Chicago police present. According to Uetricht, the pizza was let in after chants of “let the workers eat,” and after one supporter told the police: “Sir, you don’t want to be on camera denying workers pizza.” But according to Chicagoist reporter Aaron Cynic, the CPD “refused to let more food into” the building.
When the factory was Republic Windows and Doors, it was the recipient of millions of dollars of TIF money from Chicago taxpayers. In 2008, the factory drew national attention when around 200 workers participated in a six-day sit-down strike to demand severance pay and back wages.
Occupy Chicago’s labor committee has announced that they support the workers’ occupation of Serious Materials.
We’ll have more updates as we get them.
Workers Re-Occupy Former Republic Windows Factory
Just over three years after occupying Republic Doors & Windows to save their jobs, union workers have once again occupied the factory on Goose Island in Chicago. The factory, now owned by California-based Serious Energy, was to shut down today. But, workers wanted a chance to save the jobs and find a buyer. Serious Energy refused and fifty workers decided to re-occupy the factory to save it from closing.
The workers, who are with part of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) union, said in a press release:
Workers demanded a chance to save these jobs and find a buyer or purchase the factory themselves and start a worker-run enterprise. Serious Energy refused. That same day workers voted to once again occupy their factory to win justice and jobs. While negotiations between the workers of UE Local 1110 and Serious Energy continue, workers have vowed to occupy just as they did in 2008.
The press release included some history on the factory:
In 2008, workers at Republic Windows and Doors occupied their factory for six days and won $1.75 million in wages and benefits owed to them from Bank of America. In 2009 the factory was purchased by Serious Energy, a green window company. This morning (Thursday, February 23, 2012), Serious Energy informed the workers that their window factory in Chicago would close effective today. The company said there is no longer manufacturing taking place and they plan to dismantle production immediately.
Leah Fried of UE told the press that workers were negotiating with police and those in the corporate office in California. She thanked the fifty to a hundred supporters that came down to stand in solidarity with the workers and said the show of support was helping. And, Fried said, “We’ll be here as long as it takes. We’ve done it once, we’ll do it again.”
Pizzas were delivered around 7:30 pm CT. The police initially tried to stop the pizzas from getting to the workers inside the workers. Supporters chanted, “Let them eat!” The police eventually let the pizzas go through the doors.
Re-occupation supporters outside Goose Island plant (photo: @micahuetricht)
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As of now (8:45 PM CST), the situation is mostly calm. Although a police van and several police cars are on the scene, police have been negotiating with union representatives.
The story quickly spread on Twitter. News of the occupation broke around 5 pm CST. Hours later, the news was being shared widely under the #SeriousOccupation hashtag.
The action is already getting a good amount of media attention because what happened in 2008 is still fresh in the minds of those who live in Chicago.
The workers inside have a real opportunity. And, not only will they have unions and other Chicagoans there to support them but this time they have the Occupy movement too. They could save the plant from closing. This union has, as Fried said, done this before.
For more on the story, here’s a Storify with updates on the re-occupation of the former Republic Windows factory.
by Kevin Gosztola
CROSS POSTED @ http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/...
As of now (8:45 PM CST), the situation is mostly calm. Although a police van and several police cars are on the scene, police have been negotiating with union representatives.
The story quickly spread on Twitter. News of the occupation broke around 5 pm CST. Hours later, the news was being shared widely under the #SeriousOccupation hashtag.
The action is already getting a good amount of media attention because what happened in 2008 is still fresh in the minds of those who live in Chicago.
The workers inside have a real opportunity. And, not only will they have unions and other Chicagoans there to support them but this time they have the Occupy movement too. They could save the plant from closing. This union has, as Fried said, done this before.
For more on the story, here’s a Storify with updates on the re-occupation of the former Republic Windows factory.
A group of about 65 workers who occupied a Goose Island window factory in 2008 have once again locked themselves inside the plant in a desperate move to save their jobs.
Oscar Abarca, 64, said he got a call from union representatives this morning and was told not to leave the building when shift ended at 2 p.m.
He gathered with the other workers in the cafeteria for a few hours. Some played games or sat quietly to wait for news about their jobs. He needed some air and stepped outside. Police showed up, he said, and he wasn't allowed back in. He's been waiting by the front doors since then with a growing number of former employees, students and local labor organizations.
Union leaders say they want time to buy the company or find a buyer. Negotiations inside the plant continue by phone with officials from the company in California.
The layoffs come more than three years after a group of about 200 workers from Republic Windows & Doors organized a six-day sit-in demanding vacation and severance pay after being laid off in December 2008.
The battle drew national media attention. After three days, a settlement was reached. Each union worker received a check for about $6,000 just days after Republic Windows filed for protection under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Serious Energy bought the 268,000 square foot plant in 2009 with the promise of hiring back the former Republic workers. Leah Fried, a spokeswoman for UE Local 1110, said that the new company never hired back more than 75 of the workers.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/...
URGENT
Breaking News!
UE union is occupying Serious Materials factory, the former Republic Windows, right now.
They need your help and support!
Please come as soon as you can!
Join UE and Arise Chicago:
1333 N. Hickory Chicago (Division & 3 blocks west of Halsted)
Follow Arise Chicago on Facebookand Twitter (@AriseChicago) for the latest news. And join us!
Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 5:50 AM PT: occupation settled with 90 extension to close factory. Gives time to find solutiin for new ownership or possible co-op.