About 250 laid off workers of the Republic Windows and Doors glass factory have taken over their place of work after they were given three days notice. Workers are taking eight hour shifts and are saying they will not give up their occupation until certain demands are met, including severance and vacation pay.

“We decided to do it because this is money that belongs to us,” said Maria
Roman, who’s worked at the plant for eight years. “These are our rights.”

When I first heard about this story, my first thought was, “It’s about damn time,” and not just because I am a fan of takeovers and occupations but because of a wider global history of labor and other activists successfully using this tactic proving that there is power in organized numbers.

The overwhelming majority of the workers of the factory set to be closed, are using a strategy that hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since the 1930’s, pero in Latin America, this tactic is commonplace, used by workers of all types including university professors and even high school students and with success.

This latest example of the poder of people has an angle linked to the massive bailout of banks.

Management claims that it can’t continue operations because its main creditor, Bank of America (BoA), refuses to make any more loans to the company. After workers picketed BoA headquarters December 3, bank officials agreed to sit down with Republic management and UE to discuss the matter at a December 5 meeting arranged by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill), said UE organizer Leah Fried.

BoA had said that it couldn’t discuss the matter with the union directly without written approval from Republic’s management. But Republic representatives failed to show up at the meeting, and plant managers prepared to close the doors for good–violating the federal WARN Act that requires 60 days notice of a plant closure.

The workers decided this couldn’t go unchallenged. “The company and Bank of America are throwing the ball to one another, and we’re in the middle,” said Vicente Rangel, a shop steward and former vice president of Local 1110.

BOA is saying that the factory needs to take care of it’s own issues pero the people need their situation taken care of, especially in light of the fact that more factories across various industries are set to close ( I just got a tweet that Dow Chemical is closing 20 facilities and leaving 180 plants temporarily idle).

The President-Elect has publicly come on the side of the workers.

“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,” Obama said Sunday at a news conference announcing his new Veterans Affairs director. “What’s happening to them is reflective of what’s happening across this economy.

Let’s see if the president and the mainstream media continues to support the factory workers and other workers as they decide not to play the silent scapegoats for the self-serving decisions of executives who pack up their briefcases with the hard earned money of the people.

Via / Socialist Worker, AlterNet, The Unapologetic Mexican