Progress Illinois

There were some low points along the road, but last year's workers' rights battle at Republic Windows and Doors ended on a euphoric note when the factory's workers won back their withheld wages and vacation time. The good feelings didn't end there, though. When California-based Serious Materials swept in to take over the Chicago plant, the company won widespread praise -- including from the White House -- for having, in Joe Biden's words, the "science, technology and innovation to turn a failed factory into a potentially thriving business." Their goal was to retrofit the plant for green manufacturing just as billions in federal stimulus dollars were earmarked for weatherizing American homes.

With the right conditions, Serious hoped to see their factory at full capacity by the end of June and vowed to give the 250 former Republic Windows workers first crack at the jobs. But Chicago-based journalist Kari Leydersen recently checked back with the company and found that progress at Serious has been moving slowly. So far, a mere 15 former Republic employees have been put back to work. Lydersen explains the delay:

The idea was that stimulus funds for weatherization would exponentially increase demand for Serious Materials’ energy-efficient windows and ecological drywall.

The concept certainly makes sense. But the relatively slow ramp-up of production at the Serious Materials Goose Island plant shows how “green jobs” and, more generally, jobs created by the stimulus, don’t materialize as quickly and easily as people might have hoped.

A major hitch in getting the federal money out the door (including upwards of $400 million for energy efficiency projects in Illinois) is procedural. To meet the terms of the Davis-Bacon Act, the U.S. Department of Labor is still working (PDF) to determine the prevailing wage for this new class of weatherization jobs.

"That federal money just hasn't started to roll out yet," the Sierra Club's Jack Darin tells us. By fall, however, those funds should start flowing.

Meanwhile, Illinois' recently-passed $29 billion capital bill is expected to deliver its own jolt to the state's green economy, which could mean a boost for Serious.

Earlier this month, the Center for Neighborhood Technology broke down (PDF) some of the investments on tap. That Gov. Pat Quinn's decided yesterday to sign the Green Buildings Act (HB 1013) into law this week will only strengthen standards on this spending:

-$2.2 billion to build, renovate, and green state facilities
-$1.7 billion to build schools that meet LEED Silver certification
-$50 million for school energy efficiency grants
-$425 million for Urban Weatherization

The Illinois Capital Development Board will also oversee upwards of $450 million in additional spending on university and other public building projects. "[H]aving a second stimulus from the state should give workers confidence that [the jobs] are coming," Darin tells us. "The better news is that they're more sustainable and will last longer."