Full Text of HR1658 95th General Assembly
HR1658 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HR1658 |
|
LRB095 23147 GRL 53888 r |
|
| 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 |
|
|
|
HR1658 |
- 2 - |
LRB095 23147 GRL 53888 r |
|
| 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; |
|
|
|
HR1658 |
- 3 - |
LRB095 23147 GRL 53888 r |
|
| 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 |
|
|
|
HR1658 |
- 4 - |
LRB095 23147 GRL 53888 r |
|
| 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.
|
|