If you’re in Chicago tomorrow evening, the Jane Addams Hull House Museum is hosting a session with United Electrical workers from UE Local 1110 who participated in the sit-in strike at Republic Windows & Doors last year.
The program will include stories from UE workers, a video by the Republic Workers UE Local 1110; Q&A moderated by Fran Tobin, Jobs with Justice; and a reception to follow.
According to WBEZ, the free event begins at 6:00 pm, and is sponsored by a collection of local unions and pro-labor groups.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has ordered state agencies to cut ties with Bank of America. [story continued below video]
The Governor announced the move at a press conference held today at the former headquarters of recently-shuttered Republic Windows and Doors in the Goose Island neighborhood of Chicago. The company’s laid-off employees have been staging a sit-in at the warehouse since last week, protesting both the company’s decision not to pay the workers for their accrued vacation and sick days, as well as Bank of America’s decision to cut Republic’s line of credit.
The move is leverage to convince the North Carolina-based bank to use some of its federal bailout money to resolve the situation at Republic Windows and Doors.
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Blagojevich says banks got bailout money and should provide lines of credit to businesses that need it so workers can keep working.
Also – apparently after some investigation by attorney general Lisa Madigan’s office – the state will seek a federal injunction tomorrow to ensure the company follows the 60-day pay provisions set out in the WARN Act, violations of which were the impetus for the sit-in.
