Things appear to be looking up for the Chicago factory workers staging a sit-in since Friday to protest the closing of their workplace, the Republic Windows and Doors plant: JPMorgan Chase & Co. has stepped up and offered $400,000 to cover severance pay for the workers who are peacefully occupying the Chicago factory around the clock. The high-profile bank's offer comes on the heels of of a pledge by Bank of America's last night to give the laid-off workers of Republic Windows "a limited amount of additional loans."
Republic's 250 employees, members of Local 1110 of
the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, have garnered national
attention with their stand-off, which began Dec. 5 after the company said it
was shutting down because Bank of America was canceling its financing. The
plight of these ill-treated workers has become a symbol of
New York-based bank JPMorgan, which owns nearly 50 percent of Republic
Windows through its Chase Capital Partners investment, pledged the funds "for
the exclusive benefit of the plant's workers," U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez said today
in a statement on his website.
Despite widespread rumors earlier this evening that an agreement has been reached between the Republic Windows workers and Bank of America, a deal has yet to
be finalized and negotiations towards a resolution to the sit-in continue this
evening.
