NEW YORK: Republic workers speak on factory takeover

Feb 8, 2009

The heroic six-day factory occupation this past December by the Republic Windows and Doors workers in Chicago continues to resonate among labor activists and progressive forces throughout the United States.

Vivid proof of this was the standing-room-only crowd that greeted two participants in the occupation at a Jan. 31 victory meeting at Judson Memorial Church in New York’s Greenwich Village. The meeting was organized by Jobs With Justice.

Left to right, UE members Mark Meinster, Marvin Maclin and Raul Flores.

Raul Flores and Melvin Maclin, members of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local 1110, are on a national tour to explain why and how the plant takeover happened. During their inspiring remarks, they also thanked the movement, including the UE national union, for all the solidarity they have received during and since the takeover.

Some 250 workers, the majority Latino/a immigrants and African Americans, decided to take over the factory to protest Republic management’s abrupt announcement closing their plant without the legally required 60-day notification. The management said they took this action because the banks had refused to extend a line of credit to the factory.

The success of the takeover and the broad labor and community solidarity behind it forced Bank of America, the Republic factory’s biggest creditor, to provide 60 days of fully funded severance pay, health insurance and vacation pay to the workers.

Flores and Maclin both praised the leadership role women workers played during the occupation. Flores added that the women were the first ones to say they were willing to be arrested if necessary.

Stella D’oro workers, supporters.

Maclin, a vice president of UE Local 1110, spoke about the arrogance Bank of America negotiators showed toward the union’s representatives at talks during the takeover. It made their resolve even stronger. Both Flores and Maclin spoke on the need for all workers to unite and fight back for justice and dignity, especially during these very hard economic times.

Earlier that day in the Bronx, Flores and Maclin had walked the picket line alongside striking Stella D’oro workers. These strikers and their supporters in turn attended the Republic event, where they talked about their own struggle for justice, ongoing since last August when contract negotiations broke down.

Ed Ott, executive director of the New York Central Labor Council, talked about the significance of the Republic workers’ takeover and the need to build labor solidarity in New York City with the Stella D’oro strikers and Domestic Workers United, to name a few.

—Report & photos by Monica Moorehead