Union Claims Bank Of America Cut Off Financing For Republic Windows And Doors

CHICAGO (AP) ― Workers who got three days’ notice their factory was shutting its doors voted to occupy the building and said Saturday they won’t go home without assurances they’ll get severance and vacation pay they say they are owed.

In the second day of a sit-in on the factory floor that began Friday, about 200 union workers occupied the building in shifts while union leaders outside criticized a Wall Street bailout they say is leaving laborers behind.

About 50 workers sat on pallets and chairs inside the Republic Windows and Doors plant. Leah Fried, an organizer with the United Electrical Workers, said the Chicago-based vinyl window manufacturer failed to give 60 days’ notice required by law before shutting down.

During the takeover, workers have been shoveling snow and cleaning the building, Fried said.

“We’re doing something we haven’t since the 1930s, so we’re trying to make it work,” Fried said.

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