Nearly 4,000 jobs were saved with court approval of the sale of Chicago-based Hartmarx Corporation to the British firm Emerisque late last week. Emerisque announced plans before the deal to keep many of Hartmarx's Workers United-represented workers.

Earlier this year, workers voted to occupy their factories to prevent Wells Fargo Bank from liquidating the menswear manufacturing company. "The workers deserve this victory," said Ruby Sims, a Hartmarx employee for 31 years, and one of the Des Plaines plant's union organizers. "This is an important milestone for all of us."

"When the time came, you stood up," SEIU Illinois State Council President Tom Balanoff told Hartmarx workers at a rally yesterday. "You said, they're not going to close our factory. You said, we're not going to let you put us on the street. You said, we're not going to let them do this to our children. You stood up and fought. And you know what, brothers and sisters? You won." Watch highlights from a victory rally with workers, Illinois State Council President Tom Balanoff, and members of Congress.

Hartmarx employees voted unanimously today to occupy their workplace if chief lender Wells Fargo or and its subsidiary Wachovia Bank should try to shut the factory down. "The vote today says Hartmarx workers are going to hold banks accountable for how they spend taxpayers' money and how they contribute to the future of our economy," said Noel Beasley, Executive Vice President of Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, the union that represents the Hartmarx workers.

As Wells Fargo pushes for a bankruptcy closure of the facility, the plight of 3,500 workers employed nationwide at the Chicago-based Hartmarx retail company has captured the attention of state politicians and numerous labor leaders. The workers were joined by Rep. Phil Hare, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and SEIU Illinois State Council president Tom Balanoff at the rally held after the "sit in" vote at the Des Plaines, IL plant to rally support for the suit maker label, which made the custom-made dark-navy suit Obama wore on Election Night in Chicago.

"Wells Fargo has received $25 billion in taxpayer assistance through TARP. In other words, the workers Wells Fargo may throw out on the street have been subsidizing its operations during these tough economic times. So much for returning the favor," said Rep. Phil Hare, who worked at a Hartmarx factory as a fabric cutter for 13 years. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Wells Fargo has reportedly denied payment to Hartmarx's fabric suppliers since December 2008. The factory filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias also spoke to the workers, saying he will press Hartmarx factories located in other states to take the bank off its list of preferred vendors if it forces the menswear plant into liquidation.

At the rally, more than 500 Hartmarx workers packed the factory cafeteria to applaud the vote outcome, shouting their support and displaying signs that said "Bailout money, $25 billion; CEO bonuses, $30 million; Saving our jobs, priceless" and "Banks get bailed out, workers get sold out."

More details about the Hartmarx workers' fight to save their jobs at Huffington Post, New York Times and SEIU's blog, here and here.

Update: There is reportedly more action in the works in support of Hartmarx workers this week, including a hotline for workers at other companies in financial distress and a congressional letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner. Stay tuned!

New York: Gray skies and rainy conditions didn't deter a diverse crowd of more than 1,000 community activists and workers--including hundreds of SEIU Local 32BJ members--from marching in midtown Manhattan on May 1, to call on Congress and the Obama administration to reform the immigration system by providing a path to citizenship for 12 million undocumented workers. "We can no longer afford to ignore the valuable contributions of immigrant workers, who are not only part of the rich social and cultural fabric of our country but are also adding $700 billion dollars every year to our economy," said Hector Figueroa, Local 32BJ Secretary Treasurer.

NYC's rally was one of dozens of May Day marches held across the country (Check out our photos and recap of the Washington, DC rally here).

Chicago: The windy city had dreary weather similar to NYC's on May 1st, but around 2,000 rally-goers gathered at Union Park anyways and took to the streets chanting "Yes, we can," as they marched to the Federal Plaza to demand just and humane immigration reform. Many labor and community activists (including SEIU Local 1 members) held signs calling for an end to immigrant raids; others carried "the world" on their shoulders to symbolize the impact working immigrants have around the globe.

Watch SEIU Illinois State Council President Tom Balanoff address May Day marchers in Chicago:

Photos from DC, NYC & Chicago rallies on Flickr here.

On Sunday afternoon, over 3,000 janitors and community supporters crowded into the historic Chicago Theater and then marched to LaSalle Street in an effort to call attention to low-wage workers struggling to keep afloat in a time when corporate CEOs are still getting bonuses.

SEIU Local 1 janitors and other rally participants spoke about bailed-out banks--such as Bank of America--who paid huge bonuses to well-compensated executives at the same time they were eliminating jobs in the working- and middle-class sectors. "Instead of using taxpayer money to save jobs, Bank of America approved $4 billion for executive bonuses," said Urszula Przybys, a downtown janitor. "Those executives are secure and we're barely making it. They are not even being asked to take responsibility for the mess they created, but we're paying for their mistakes."

With $4 billion, Bank of America could have created nearly 175,000 jobs at an average bank teller's annual salary of $22,901. "Communities need good jobs, not more money put into pockets of the richest Americans and big corporations," said Tom Balanoff, President of SEIU Local 1.

Chicago janitors work hard to keep our community's buildings, schools and public areas sanitary, cleaning the equivalent of nearly 33,000 miles of office space every night. They work hard in a relatively thankless job with few perks, as they struggle to pay their mortgages and create a better life for their children. "We need to send a strong message that janitors deserve a living wage and better benefit," Alderman Ricardo Munoz told the audience during the Chicago Theater event.

According to the EPI, the average Chicago janitor makes $23,400 a year--not nearly enough to meet the cost of living for a family of four in the Chicago area. "We know it's tough times," said SEIU Local 1 spokeswoman Erica Hade to the Chicago Sun-Times. "Everybody is struggling. Working people are struggling to pay their mortgages and make ends meet. But we think there needs to be a partnership between everyone who's hurting to try to get our economy back on track."

The rally occurs as nearly 15,000 SEIU Local 1 janitors begin contract negotiations with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Chicago in a few days' time. Their union contract expires April 5. A second rally is scheduled for March 5 at the Fifth Third Bank in Schaumburg--stay tuned for more details later in the week.

Watch video coverage from the event here :

(video courtesy of Progress Illinois)

Sit-in at Chicago plan, now in its 5th day, has become symbol for a frustrated nation

It's the kind of story that has become all too familiar to working Americans - and the kind of story that we've been reading all too often in the news lately.

Bank of America's last-minute decision to close Republic down had resulted in the company shutting its doors without providing its workers the 60 days' notice required by law. And the workers hadn't been paid for their accrued vacation or sick time, either.

However, these workers, who are members of Local 1110 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, didn't follow management's example and go quietly into the night to face the prospect of a cold winter without a job.

They decided instead to take a stand, staging a "peaceful occupation" of the Republic Windows and Doors plant in what is now day five of an around-the-clock sit-in, as some 200 workers take turns occupying the plant in eight-hour shifts.

The workers of Republic Windows were not the only people in the community trying to fathom how a bank that had just accepted $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money--money that was intended to get their credit flowing again--could not even manage to extend enough credit to the plant to meet its legal obligations to its workers. Leading political figures in the Chicago area and beyond have turned out to support the sit-in -- including the former South Side community organizer and state senator who is now our president-elect.

"When it comes to the situation here in Chicago with the workers who are asking for their benefits and payments they have earned, I think they are absolutely right," President-elect Barack Obama said to the Chicago Sun-Times during a news conference Sunday. "...These companies need to follow through on those commitments. [And] I think it is important for us to make sure that, moving forward, any economic plan we put in place helps businesses to meet payroll so we are not seeing these kinds of circumstances again."

At a press conference yesterday at Chicago's city hall, a contingent of 15 Chicago aldermen, workers from Republic Windows and Doors, leaders of the Chicago Federation of Labor Leaders, UE, SEIU and Rev. Jesse Jackson announced an official ordinance to end to any involvement by the city of Chicago with Bank of America.

"It's not only unfair to the workers, but also Bank of America is thumbing its nose at Congress by taking federal recovery funds while refusing to extend credit to a small manufacturing company with a long history of profitability," said Tom Balanoff, president of SEIU Illinois Council. "Bank of America's withdrawal of credit also contradicts and undercuts President-elect Barack Obama's plan to stimulate the depressed economy by investing in weatherization of existing homes and buildings and in other infrastructure and energy-saving construction," Balanoff added.

Want to lend your support for the workers at Republic Windows and Doors? Ways to take action now and hold Bank of America accountable, via Change to Win:

* Send a message of support to the sit-down strikers: the Republic workers' union has set up an online form you can use to let them know that you support their struggle.

* Send a message to Bank of America: Jobs with Justice, the national worker rights coalition, has set up an online form you can use to write to Bank of America to demand they keep Republic open or pay the workers at Republic what they're owed.

* Contribute to the strike fund: the workers at Republic aren't collecting paychecks, and they and their families still need to eat and keep a roof over their heads. You can help by making a secure online contribution to the strike fund via PayPal.