Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said Dec.8 that the state would suspend business with Bank of America.
On Friday, Dec. 5, Republic Windows and Doors, a Chicago business, was forced to close after Bank of America canceled the company’s line of credit. Members of United Electrical, Radio, and Machinery Workers of America (UE), an independent union, have held an ongoing sit-in at the plant to protest its closing.
The company, which had been in business since 1965, announced that it would be going out of business, giving its near 200 employees just three days notice. In addition, protesters have said that they were not given the 60 days notice that is required in a mass layoff, nor were they given their vacation and severance pay.
In response, 15 members of the Chicago city council have called for the city to end all financial ties with Bank of America. Illinois Governor also said on Dec. 8 that the state will not do business with Bank of America until the situation is resolved.
President-elect Barack Obama was quoted Sunday by the Chicago Sun-Times, offering his support to the laid-off workers. “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,” Obama is quoted saying.
“So, number one, I think that these workers, if they have earned their benefits and their pay, then these companies need to follow through on those commitments. Number two, 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,” Obama said.
A statement released by Bank of America on Dec. 8 has dodged the blame, saying that Republic Windows and Doors should be responsible to “honor its obligations to its employees and minimize the impact of failure on those employees.”
“When a company faces such a dire situation, its lender is not empowered to direct the company’s management how to manage its affairs and what obligations should be paid. Such decisions belong to the management and owners of the company,” the statement says.
The UE, on the other hand, has pointed the blame to Bank of America. Al Hart, editor of the UE news, said in a phone interview that Bank of America is the responsible party. “When your credit is cut off, unless you’ve got some internal financing, you’re forced to close up,” said Hart.
“This, of course, flies in the face of what we were told when the government approved the financial bail-out for the banks. ‘If they don’t give $700 billion to the financial industry, credit will dry up, factories will be forced to close, and people will lose their jobs,’” said Hart. “Well, we had the bail-out, Bank of America got $25 billion from taxpayers, and yet they’re cutting off credit to a company like this and forcing them to close down.”
“If you look over the past year, and some of this was before the bailout, they bought Countrywide, they bought Meryl Lynch around the time of the bailout. They’re buying up other banks and other financial institutions instead of doing the things that they’re supposed to do as a bank—which is providing credit to keep the economy functioning.”
On Friday, Dec. 5, Republic Windows and Doors, a Chicago business, was forced to close after Bank of America canceled the company’s line of credit. Members of United Electrical, Radio, and Machinery Workers of America (UE), an independent union, have held an ongoing sit-in at the plant to protest its closing.
The company, which had been in business since 1965, announced that it would be going out of business, giving its near 200 employees just three days notice. In addition, protesters have said that they were not given the 60 days notice that is required in a mass layoff, nor were they given their vacation and severance pay.
In response, 15 members of the Chicago city council have called for the city to end all financial ties with Bank of America. Illinois Governor also said on Dec. 8 that the state will not do business with Bank of America until the situation is resolved.
President-elect Barack Obama was quoted Sunday by the Chicago Sun-Times, offering his support to the laid-off workers. “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,” Obama is quoted saying.
“So, number one, I think that these workers, if they have earned their benefits and their pay, then these companies need to follow through on those commitments. Number two, 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,” Obama said.
A statement released by Bank of America on Dec. 8 has dodged the blame, saying that Republic Windows and Doors should be responsible to “honor its obligations to its employees and minimize the impact of failure on those employees.”
“When a company faces such a dire situation, its lender is not empowered to direct the company’s management how to manage its affairs and what obligations should be paid. Such decisions belong to the management and owners of the company,” the statement says.
The UE, on the other hand, has pointed the blame to Bank of America. Al Hart, editor of the UE news, said in a phone interview that Bank of America is the responsible party. “When your credit is cut off, unless you’ve got some internal financing, you’re forced to close up,” said Hart.
“This, of course, flies in the face of what we were told when the government approved the financial bail-out for the banks. ‘If they don’t give $700 billion to the financial industry, credit will dry up, factories will be forced to close, and people will lose their jobs,’” said Hart. “Well, we had the bail-out, Bank of America got $25 billion from taxpayers, and yet they’re cutting off credit to a company like this and forcing them to close down.”
“If you look over the past year, and some of this was before the bailout, they bought Countrywide, they bought Meryl Lynch around the time of the bailout. They’re buying up other banks and other financial institutions instead of doing the things that they’re supposed to do as a bank—which is providing credit to keep the economy functioning.”
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