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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Republic Windows & Doors, Inc. is the owner of a
3 factory that manufactures vinyl windows and sliding doors in
4 the Goose Island community in Chicago; and
 
5     WHEREAS, On December 5, 2008, Republic Windows & Doors
6 suddenly closed its factory and laid off about 260 employees
7 employed there; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The laid-off employees are members of Local 1110
9 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America
10 (UE); and
 
11     WHEREAS, Republic Windows & Doors gave the laid-off
12 employees only three days' notice of the factory shutdown, in
13 violation of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining
14 Notification (WARN) Act of 1988, which requires employers with
15 100 or more employees to provide 60 days' advance notice of a
16 plant closing involving 50 or more employees; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Republic Windows & Doors also owed the laid-off
18 employees severance and vacation pay under their contract; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Bank of America Corp. did not offer enough credit
20 to Republic Windows & Doors to allow it to keep its factory

 

 

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1 operating; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Bank of America has received at least $15 billion
3 in federal bailout money from the federal government under the
4 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP); and
 
5     WHEREAS, A major purpose of TARP monies was to enable
6 financial institutions to stimulate the economy by providing
7 credit which they could not have otherwise extended; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Bank of America's hoarding of TARP monies by
9 withholding credit to Republic Windows & Doors violated the
10 intent of TARP; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Based on common knowledge of banking practices, it
12 is evident that Republic Windows & Doors must have known about
13 Bank of America's withholding of credit long before it gave the
14 three days' layoff notice to its employees; and
 
15     WHEREAS, In protest against Republic Windows & Doors'
16 illegal actions, its employees refused to leave the factory
17 worksite; and
 
18     WHEREAS, The employees' peaceful occupation of the factory
19 gained the support of President-Elect Barack Obama, as well as
20 political, labor, and religious leaders throughout Illinois;

 

 

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1 and
 
2     WHEREAS, Late on December 10, 2008, six days after
3 occupying the plant, the employees of Republic Windows and
4 Doors voted to accept a settlement offer; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Under the terms of this settlement, the employees
6 will receive eight weeks of pay which they are owed under the
7 federal WARN Act, in addition to two months of continued health
8 coverage and pay for all accrued and unused vacation; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Of the total settlement amount of $1.75 million,
10 $400,000 will be contributed by JP Morgan Chase & Co. and the
11 rest by Bank of America; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Although the settlement monies will be provided as
13 a loan to Republic Windows and Doors, it will go directly into
14 a third-party fund whose sole purpose is to pay the workers
15 what is owed them; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Although Local 1110 did not succeed in its efforts
17 to keep the factory in operation, the UE has started the Window
18 of Opportunity Fund dedicated to reopening it; therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1 congratulate the employees of Republic Windows & Doors for
2 their success in obtaining wages and benefits to which they are
3 legally entitled through peaceful and concerted action that has
4 inspired the nation; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That we commend the United Electrical, Radio and
6 Machine Workers of America, the union's Local 1110, and Local
7 1110's president, Armando Robles, for courageous and decisive
8 representation that serves as a model for organized labor in
9 these difficult economic times; and be it further
 
10     RESOLVED, That we commend Republic Windows and Doors, Inc.
11 for agreeing to a just and equitable settlement and express our
12 hope that the Goose Island factory will be re-opened for
13 production in the near future; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That we commend Bank of America and JP Morgan
15 Chase for agreeing to contribute the needed funds to implement
16 the settlement agreement, and call upon these banks, in
17 compliance with the intent of Congress, to henceforth use TARP
18 monies to promote, rather than hinder, economic recovery.