UE NEWS Updates

After meeting for more than three hours Monday with the owner of Republic Windows and representatives from the Bank of America, UE Local 1110 members said they were "cautiously optimistic" and looking forward to a second meeting set for 1:00 p.m. Tuesday.

"We had a good discussion and the beginning of a negotiation," reported UE Organizer Leah Fried following a briefing and discussion held with workers who have occupied the plant since last Friday. Fried added, "but we will continue to occupy the factory until a resolution is reached."

Members of UE Local 1110 who work at Republic Windows and Doors are occupying the plant around the clock this weekend, in an effort to force the company and its main creditor to meet their obligations to the workers. Their goal is to at least get the compensation that workers are owed; they also seek the resumption of operations at the plant. All 260 members of the local were laid off Friday in a sudden plant closing, brought on by Bank of America cutting off operating credit to the company. The bank even refused to authorize the release of money to Republic needed to pay workers their earned vacation pay, and compensation they are owed under the federal WARN Act because they were not given the legally-required notice that the plant was about to close.

UE Local 1110 members in Chicago who work at Republic Windows and Doors are in a tough battle with their employer, as well as with the giant Bank of America. The bank - which has already been given $25 billion in as part of the taxpayer bailout of the financial industry - is refusing to extend credit to the company, forcing the plant to close and destroying some 300 jobs.

On October 18, members of UE Local 1137 voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first union contact. Workers at the Ferro Pfanstiehl pharmaceutical plant had joined UE in May, when they chose UE representation by a two-to-one margin in an NLRB election.

Two major issues that drove both the organizing drive and contract negotiations were workers’ desire to stop the company from taking away employee benefits, and the need for a fair and rational wage system. Pay rates were all over the board, and even workers performing the same job often received vastly different wages.