The former workers of Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago learned Feb. 26 that they will regain their jobs. Serious Materials purchased Republic in bankruptcy court and will re-hire the workers.
The workers, members of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 1110, gained international renown in December 2008 for sitting in at their factory to protest its sudden closure without commensurate severance.
Plant owner Rich Gillman had surreptitiously planned to move operations to another facility, partly blaming the union workers for the company’s bankruptcy. Gillman’s new, non-union plant in Iowa recently ceased operations.
Serious Materials has said it intends to hire back all 250 laid-off workers after the factory is fully refurbished.
The fate of the new, non-union factory put truth to the lies that sacrificing union wages and benefits will avert job losses. The widespread public support garnered by the UE Local 1110 struggle secured the workers’ severance pay and was certainly a factor in Serious’s decision to rehire the workers.
