Original article, by Clement Daly, via World Socialist Web Site:
Last Wednesday former CEO of Republic Windows & Doors, Richard Gillman, was arrested at his Magnificent Mile condominium in Chicago and charged with a laundry list of crimes related to the liquidation of the company’s enterprise in Chicago last December
You remember Republic Windows and Doors, don't you?
Last December, about 250 workers at Republic’s Chicago plant occupied the factory following its abrupt closing. At issue was the payment of unused vacation time, the immediate termination of health insurance, as well as the 60-days severance pay mandated by federal law in a mass layoff event. After six days of mounting working class support in the US and internationally, the occupation was defused though a deal brokered with Bank of America for an extension of credit to pay the workers back pay and to provide two months of health insurance coverage.
And so the boss of Republic Windows and Doors apparently turns out to be a crook. Big surprise, eh? Him being a capitalist and all.
The allegations against Gillman substantiate claims made by Republic workers to World Socialist Web Site reporters. In the days before they launched their occupation, workers witnessed depleted inventories, suspicious removal of equipment from the factory in the middle of the night with the lights off, and heard rumors of a new operation in Iowa. At the time, company management reassured workers with the claim that key pieces of machinery were being removed for replacement with better equipment.
I'll let you read on. You'll find out how a scheme was concocted to close Republic Windows and Doors, shift all of their equipment to a plant in Iowa, go into bankruptcy to get rid of the debt obligations and then reopen in the non-union Iowa plant. You also find that the non-union Iowa plant have suffered from a bout with Karma.