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| Obama Backs Window Workers Staging Sin-In |
| 2008-12-08 |
| CHICAGO (Dec. 8) - President-elect Barack Obama is weighing in on behalf of workers staging a sit-in on the factory floor of their former Chicago employer to protest abruptly losing their jobs last week. They had no WARNING I tell you, clueless! The death of the housing boom and downturn in orders and production, empty shipping dock, etc, totally escaped the window and door people did it? Obama told a news conference Sunday that Republic Windows and Doors should follow through on its commitments to the 200 workers, who say they won't leave the plant until they are assured they'll receive their severance and vacation pay. "The workers who are asking for the benefits and payments that they have earned, I think they're absolutely right and understand that what's happening to them is reflective of what's happening across this economy," Obama said. And when one of terminated employees is injured in the plant and the insurance company says, NO CAN DO to medical coverage and damages, what then Messiah? He's gonna be a busy young man getting in the middle of all of these closings, very, very busy young man. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan also said her office was investigating the "We never expected this," said Melvin Maclin, a factory employee and vice president of the local union that represents the workers. "We expected to go to jail." No sir'ee, didn't see it a comin. Just been enjoying the hell out of these 8 hour coffee breaks. The Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered turkeys, pledging the support of his Chicago-based civil rights group, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. "These workers deserve their wages, deserve fair notice, deserve health security," Jackson said. "This may be the beginning of long struggle of worker resistance finally." A workers revolution? How very communist. Leah Fried, an organizer for the United Electrical Workers union that represents the workers, said the company told the union that Bank of America has canceled its financing. The bank had said in a statement that it wasn't responsible for Republic's financial obligations to its employees. Remember donks, trickle-down One of the factory's workers, Silvia Mazon, said in Spanish that she needs the money owed to her for an $1,800 monthly house payment. The 40-year-old from Cicero said she has enough money saved to survive for one month. "We're making history," she said. Better be 'making' tracks to a new job or a warmer climate. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, called it the start of a movement. "This story has resonated around the world," she said. "Movement" as in industry continuing to move OUT OF ILLINOIS as it has been for the past 45 years. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #14 Me too, AP. AND I was speculating on the Bummer.... ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-12-08 21:08 |
| #13 I misread the headlines. I thought that it said, "Window washers." Silly me. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-12-08 20:17 |
| #12 The Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered turkeys Must've been a drag cooking them in the break-room microwave... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-12-08 19:08 |
| #11 The company is bankrupt. It's over. My only question is where's Sharpton? After the cameras and the news cycle have moved on, so will the parasites. In the end, the workers will wither. Alone. Jesse pulled the same stunt back in the 1980's during the International Paper strike. |
| Posted by: Minister of funny walks 2008-12-08 18:58 |
| #10 Leah Fried, an organizer for the United Electrical Workers union What a perfect snark, and just laying there unguarded. I picture a explosion of hair and a shocked look. |
| Posted by: Rednek Jim 2008-12-08 15:45 |
| #9 Obama Backs Window Workers Staging Sin-In I came here for the Sin-In, and I get is an ordinary sit-in! Ripoff! Maybe Obama will compensate me for my trauma. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2008-12-08 15:42 |
| #8 The Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered turkeys,.. As God is my witness, I thought the Rev. Jackson could fly. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-12-08 14:32 |
| #7 It's a long and distinguished list. That's also why the pain will get worse and Obama will be seen as the good old days. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-12-08 13:31 |
| #6 US will keep merging our economy with the poorest economies of the world that money men can outsource to. You mean like Hank "Goldman Sachs" Paulson, clients of Kissinger and Associates, Tim "Yes I also speak Chinese" Ginther, and the like? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-12-08 13:27 |
| #5 The economy won't get better until the US reestablishes a sane trade and tariff policy. Until then, the US will keep merging our economy with the poorest economies of the world that money men can outsource to. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-12-08 13:17 |
| #4 The Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered turkeys,... Talk about a pregnant phrase - worthy of a snark contest... |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2008-12-08 12:39 |
| #3 "One of the factory's workers, Silvia Mazon, said in Spanish" Yeah, DepotGuy, think there's any correlation? Another ripoff, slipshod operation that should have been gone long ago. Let's quit being such assholes. Put American workers to work. If you pay more, so be it. Maybe it will actually work. You just buy less. Purchase only what you need, not so much junk that you have to get a rental unit to store the excess. By deporting these illegals, state and local governments could easily reduce outlays by 40% over night. Maybe they could even run balanced budgets. There's a LOT of reality checks needed to get back on an even keel. Until that happens, going to be some tough times ahead. |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2700 2008-12-08 11:54 |
| #2 "...and understand that what's happening to them is reflective of what's happening across this economy," Obama said." If Obama is making a comparison to the “Detroit-Three” Auto Makers he has a valid point. As a company, Republic Windows has been poorly run, went through bankruptcy and restructuring, and still couldn’t get it’s shit together. They were unable to fulfill their Dealer obligations and unwilling to honor their warranties. When manufactured correctly their products are average – at best. However, they have a high rate of defective products coming right out of the chute. Oddly, Republic is marketed as a Premium product line and therefore overpriced. Oh yeah, their customer service sucks too. Soooo… a Union shop that is poorly managed, produces a substandard product, and has over-priced itself out of market share…hmmm…yep it’s “reflective of this economy” all right. But somehow I don’t think that’s what he meant. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2008-12-08 11:27 |
| #1 The company is caught between laws which require it give notice and pay severence and its available funds. As I understand it, Republic had a line of credit with its bank, which would have normally allowed it to continue operations, but that bank was taken over by Bank of America, who found that Republic did not meet its (new?) credit-worthiness requirements, so it rescinded the line of credit. And may have even put a hold on existing cash balance of Republic, to protect its (Bank of America) other loans out to Republic. What that tells me is that in reality Republic is bankrupt and this sit-in cannot accomplish anything. On the other hand, the feds may require that Bank of America pass along some of that magic bailout money to Republic to pay its former employees, regardless of whether such a loan makes business sense. Where have we seen that kind of banking practice before? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-12-08 10:39 |