Industrial Workers of the World - General Construction Workers Industrial Union 310

IWW on THE ILLINOIS WORLD LABOR HOUR

x344543 — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:50:07 +0000

THIS SATURDAY, JAN. 10TH

THE ILLINOIS WORLD LABOR HOUR
90.1 FM / www.weft.org 11AM - 12 NOON ( CENTRAL TIME )

A LIVE TELEPHONE INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT AUSTIN OF THE CHICAGO INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD ( IWW ).

TALKING ABOUT HIS EYE-WITNESS EXPERIENCE AS A PARTICIPANT IN THE REPUBLIC WINDOW AND DOOR FACTORY OCCUPATION WITH RANK AND FILE WORKERS OF THE UNITED ELECTRICAL WORKERS UNION ( UE ).

TUNE IN AT 11AM ( CST ) TO HEAR FELLOW WORKER AUSTIN DESCRIBE THE EVENT THAT SHOCKED THE RULING CLASS AND INSPIRED WORKERS AROUND THE WORLD.

WEFT 90.1 FM / www.weft.org
LISTENER SUPPORTED COMMUNITY RADIO IN CHAMPAIGN IL.

Report-back from Wed. Dec. 10 IWW NYC solidarity action w/ UE strikers

x344543 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:17:02 +0000

A dozen members and supporters of the Industrial Workers of the World in NYC entered two Bank of America locations in Manhattan yesterday to demand that the bailed-out financial giant do the right thing in the Republic sit-down strike. Workers served a demand letter on Branch management and disrupted business as usual with chants of, "you got bailed out, we got sold out." At a third Bank of America location, management had been tipped off, and the demonstrators were stopped at the door by senior security personnel. The security personnel accepted the demand letter, stated "no comment", and then retreated into the bank as demonstrators erupted in chanting.

The NYC Wobblies pledged full and lasting solidarity with the UE brothers and sisters as they struggled for fair compensation and for control of their factory.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b7qLgC6m_w

VICTORY AT REPUBLIC WINDOWS AND DOORS!

x344543 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:23:19 +0000

Press Release from UE Local 1110, posted in solidarity by IWW members:

Workers Vote to Get Pay; Occupation Ends!

After 6 days occupying the plant, workers at Republic Window and Doors in Chicago voted to accept a settlement late on December 10th.

The settlement totals $1.75million. It will provide the workers with:

- Eight weeks of pay they are owed under the federal WARN Act;
- Two months of continued health coverage, and;
- Pay for all accrued and unused vacation.

JPMorgan Chase will provide $400,000 of the settlement, with the balance coming from Bank of America. Although the money will be provided as a loan to Republic Windows and Doors, it will go directly into a third-party fund whose sole purpose is to pay the workers what is owed them. In addition, the UE has started the "Window of Opportunity Fund" dedicated to re-opening the plant.

As the Local 1110 leaders characterized the settlement, "We fought to make them pay what they owe us, and we won." Read more about the settlement here.

We want to extend a big THANK YOU to all of you who participated in this campaign. The tremendous support and solidarity from the thousands of people like you around the country - and the world - who took the time to send messages to Bank of America and who rallied at banks across the country was crucial in winning this victory.

This is truly an historic victory for workers in the United States.

But this struggle is just the beginning! As the economic crisis deepens we need to launch a working class fight back. Rallies for a "People's Bailout" will continue today and throughout the rest of the week.

Click here to find an action near you (updated daily) http://www.jwj.org/bailout/12-08actions.html. You can also take action online:

- Tell Congress: We Demand a People's Bailout: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/peoplesbailout
- Save Autoworker Jobs: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/autoworkers
- VOTE NOW for Grinch of the Year: http://www.jwj.org/grinch

Thanks again for all that you do! You can see photos, video, and press clips from the Week of Action here: http://www.jwj.org/bailout/12-08report.html

San Francisco activists demonstrate in solidarity with Republic Windows & Doors workers

x344543 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:18:48 +0000

By Richard Becker - Tuesday, December 9, 2008, Originally posted at Party for Liberation and Socialism.

A sit-in and protest was held in San Francisco on Dec. 9 as an act of solidarity with workers who have been sitting-in since Dec. 5 at the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago . Four people were arrested after sitting in at a downtown office of the Bank of America during the protest in San Francisco.

Bank of America, which has received tens of billions in taxpayers money from the bank bailout, triggered the plant closing by cutting off credit to the company to pay workers their wages and ongoing expenses. The shutdown of the plant without notice is a violation of federal law.

The workers, members of the United Electrical Workers union, have refused to leave the factory until they are paid in full for wages, unused vacation time and other compensation due to them. They are also demanding that Bank of America extend credit so that the plant can remain open and they can keep their jobs.

Support Swells for Chicago Union Workers' Factory Occupation

x344543 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:39:35 +0000

From Chicago Indymedia

The worker occupation of the Republic Windows and Doors factory on Chicago's Goose Island by members of UE (United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America) Local 1110 went into its third day on Sunday, and workers have vowed to continue the occupation until they are paid back pay and benefits, or until the plant is re-opened.

The occupation was declared on Friday, the day the company moved to shutter the plant with only three days notice — in violation of federal and state labor laws. Owners have also cut off employees' insurance and failed to pay back pay. The takeover has sparked a groundswell of support across the nation, with rallies, e-mail campaigns, petition drives, fundraisers and plans for future actions. [ Updated news links ]

Company management blames the shut-down on Bank of America, which cut their credit line — after BoA received $25 billion in federal bailout money that the bank said they did not need. Since the bailout began, BoA — like big banks across the globe — has slashed credit lines to businesses, forcing a growing number of small and medium-sized companies to shut down. Workers plan to meet with company and bank representatives on Monday — and to picket BoA's LaSalle St. offices on Tuesday if Republic's line of credit is not restored.

The action at Republic Windows comes on the heels of a drive to kick out the company union, which had colluded with company owners and management for years. That effort succeeded after three years of struggle. Republic Windows' worker occupation is one of the first actions of its kind in the United States since the Great Depression, when a wave of sit-in strikes and factory occupations marked one of the most militant phases in U.S. labor history.

Chicago IWW Forms UE Workers Solidarity Committee and Announces Day of Action to Support UE Workers!

x344543 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:16:44 +0000

In support of the recent UE occupation of Republic Windows, the Chicago IWW has responded by forming UE Workers Solidarity Committee to provide support for the sit in strikers. The committee is comprised of diverse organizations to primarily act as a flying squad in case of eviction or action taken against the workers. The committee is working to coordinate food, water, media work and outreach.

The RWSC is asking other IWW Branches to take action on Wednesday 12:00 at Bank of America locations in their cities. Because events around the strike are happening quickly, please contact the organizers in case of changes. Also, if possible take a picture or write an article and send it to the committee. Bring banners, flags, and signs and demand No More Bailouts For The Ruling Class!!

The Spark We Need - The Chicago Sit-Down Strike

x344543 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:52:13 +0000

By Daniel Gross - Counterpunch, December 8, 2008.

The corporations got sloppy. From the hedge-fund parasites to the housing market fraudsters, the corporate criminals have shown their hand. Their filthy fingerprints are all over the economic pain blanketing the country and the world.

To add insult to injury, the corporate agents in government, also known as politicians, are looting incomprehensible billions of dollars to turn over to the fat-cat executives.

Working families have long known the pain of stagnant wages, steep rents, and unaffordable heath care and education in the United States. But there’s no doubt that this recession has squeezed the vise beyond what many of us have seen in our lifetimes.

What’s invigorating and critically important though is the rising awareness that corporations are to blame for the current calamity, and that this crisis is not merely, “a force of nature.” Working people across the country are pointing the blame where it belongs. The elites understand this rising public awareness of corporate wrongdoing as well. How else to explain President George W. Bush feeling obligated to give a speech last month in New York defending capitalism itself?

According to this year’s Gallup survey on opinions toward 25 business sectors, all but one sector (sports) suffered a decline in esteem. The real estate industry suffered the greatest decline in positive ratings for any industry in the history of the poll. Only 16% of those questioned had a positive view of the real estate business. Banking also suffered a precipitous drop from 50% rating it positively last year to just 36% giving a favorable nod this year.

The combination of economic pain and rising awareness of corporate culpability has created a tremendous opportunity for workplace and community organizers interested in transformational change. This is our time: time to step up the intensity of our outreach and organizing around demands which challenge the dominance of the corporations in our lives.

UE Workers Occupy Republic Windows Factory - 200 Chicago Unionists rally in Support of Factory Sit-in

x344543 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:43:48 +0000

As of Friday morning, 200 angry UE Local 1110 workers have occupied the The Republic Windows and Doors factory which closed abruptly last week after Bank of America canceled the company's financing. This is the first major organized factory occupation in the US by unionized workers since the 1930s and very likely the portent of further actions by workers as the capitalist system's house of cards continues to come crashing down. The following account is by a member of the CHicago IWW. Links to other news stories about the occupation are included as well:

Fellow Workers,

I just got back from a Labor rally at Republic Windows, a factory located on Goose Island, which is a designated Manufacturing District in the City of Chicago, Illinois. There were approximately 200 Union people attending the rally, including 5 Wobblies, along with U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrrez, and the media, including Labor Beat (a Wob Member), all the Chicago TV stations, and probably Chicagoindymedia, Chicago Public Radio as well, can't confirm the last two.

The workers in the factory are members of UE Local 1110. The factory shut down at 10:00 am Friday. There was no advanced notice to the workers. They have been denied vacation pay and severance pay, which under Illinois law is 75 days in a union shop. The workers refused to leave.They are currently occuping the factory. Apperently, BOA (Bank of America) wouldn't give Republic a Line of Credit to continue operations.

At the rally, representatives from Jobs With Justice, Interfaith Worker Justice (which co-ordinated the event), SEIU, Teamsters (the radical local), and US Rep Gutierezz spoke. Most of them had pretty good things to say. Basically, Wall St has been Bailed Out, where's the bailout for Workers?

Illinois Rep Luis Gutierrezz threw his support behind the Republic Workers. He babbled on a bit, as is his nature. He is brokering a deal to meet with UE, BOA , and Republic Monday. The deal is: get the workers their severance and Holiday pay.

If the deal falls out, UE will picket BOA HQ at 135 S La Salle St. at Noon on Tuesday.