According to U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez each of the 240 laid-off laborers of Republic Windows & Doors would receive approximately $7000. The $1.75 million loan from Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase will give each laborer eight weeks salary, all accrued vacation and two months paid healthcare.
The sit-in lasted six days after over 200 workers protested being laid off a mere three days after the factory shut down. The mostly Latino workforce participated in the protest which- as Guanabee brilliantly observed- was reminiscent of actions taken during Argentina’s 2001 financial meltdown.
The Chicago workers’ sit-in could have serious long-term effects in labor-management relations, according to a piece in the csmonitor.com:
Besides owed benefits, the protesting workers won a public-relations battle and drew a new line in the sand of labor-management relations, say some labor experts. In the past, workers would have filed a class-action suit to get severance, accrued vacation pay, and healthcare benefits. But the sit-in put the issue front and center and made it – and potentially other actions like it – a cause célèbre for people worried about job losses.Image- AP (“Demonstrators march through downtown Chicago Dec. 10, 2008 in support of members of Local 1110 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America.”)
"Of course it's going to increase pressure on companies," Dr. Safford says of the sit-in. "What I'm impressed with is this union and these workers. They were thinking way ahead of the game. This is about political pressure being put on companies."
Sources- csmonitor.com, AP, Guanabee, New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg
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