Although currently quite mild in nature, the seeds are being sown for future unrest in the U.S. As economic conditions worsen and family income earners become more desperate, there is a very good chance that extreme reactions will soon be encountered. As indicated below, factory occupations have not been seen in the U.S. since the Great Depression. The unconditional bailouts to Wall Street will only serve to make the Average Joe even more irate. No surprise to see the Bank of America involved in the factory fiasco below.

Regards - VHF

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Laid-off workers occupy Chicago factory

'We're doing something we haven't since the 1930s,' labor organizer says

msnbc

December 6, 2008

CHICAGO - Workers laid off from their jobs at a factory have occupied the building and are demanding assurances they'll get severance and vacation pay that they say they are owed.

About 200 employees of Republic Windows and Doors began their sit-in Friday, the last scheduled day of the plant's operation.

“I have to stay,” Raul Flores told a local news organization. “Not just for me. For my family. For my children.”

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.

Workers also were angered when company officials didn't show up for a meeting Friday that had been arranged by U.S. Rep Luis Gutierrez, a Chicago Democrat, she said.

During the peaceful 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.

Union officials said another meeting with the company is scheduled for Monday.

Representatives of Republic Windows did not immediately respond Saturday to calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said authorities were aware of the situation and officers were patrolling the area.

Crain's Chicago Business reported that the company's monthly sales had fallen to $2.9 million from $4 million during the past month.

In a memo to the union, obtained by the business journal, Republic CEO Rich Gillman said the company had "no choice but to shut our doors."

Laid off workers peer through the doors of the their abruptly shuttered factory where they staged a sit-in on December 5, 2008 demanding that the bank which cut off credit to the Chicago company free up some financing so they can be paid their final wages. The 250 unionized workers planned to camp out at the factory until a settlement is reached with Republic Windows & Doors and Bank of America.