Progress Illinois

We already knew Richard Gillman was a shady operator. We watched as the then-CEO of Republic Windows and Doors abruptly closed his Chicago factory last December, stiffing 250 employees on their paychecks, vacation time, and benefits -- just in time for the holidays. We then learned that Gillman had taken much of the Republic Windows equipment to Iowa and started a new company in an apparent effort to avoid paying union-negotiated wages. The new plant operated for only two months before Gillman shut it down as well, defaulting on a $1 million mortgage.

Now, eight months later, the Cook County state's attorney's office says Gillman broke the law when he moved the Republic Windows equipment across state lines.  They arrested him yesterday.

In a bond hearing this morning, prosecutors testified that Gillman, along with other company officials, absconded with 10 semi-trailers full of equipment and conspired to launder company money through shell corporations to avoid paying out its creditors, which include JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and General Electric. The charges against Gillman include mail fraud, money laundering, organizing and continuing a financial crime enterprise, and felony theft charges. In turn, Judge Peggy Chiampas set Gillman's bail at a staggering $10 million.

United Electrical Workers Local 1110, which fought for months to help the Republic Windows workers recoup their wages and benefits, responded to the news today.

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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.

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Last December, financial giant and multi-billion-dollar bailout recipient Bank of America canceled a $5 million line of credit to Chicago-based Republic Windows and Doors, leading the owners to abruptly shut down their Goose Island plant. The 250 unionized workers employed at the factory then pushed back, staging a sit-in at the factory to secure the 60 days severance and unused vacation days they were lawfully owed. After a dramatic victory that drew national media attention, some labor experts and business leaders guessed that the peaceful occupation might set an example for banks and employers considering such short-sighted actions. 

Apparently, fellow bailout recipient Wells Fargo ignored the uproar, as a similar situation may be brewing around a manufacturer they finance. If the bank ultimately puts short-term profits over the survival of this longstanding Illinois-based company, union workers and Americans at large would have yet another reason to castigate the Wall Street interests who, in Sen. Dick Durbin's words, "own" Washington.

Hart Schaffner Marx (known colloquially as Hartmarx) has been manufacturing high-quality clothing apparel for over 100 years. With 2,000 North American employees -- including 1,000 workers at plants in Des Plaines and Rock Island and a warehouse in Michigan City, IN -- it's the only remaining major, high-end, men's clothing manufacturer in America.

The company has friends and fans in the nation's capitol. Rep. Phil Hare -- as the Washington Post's Harold Meyerson noted last Thursday -- worked in the factory's cutting room from 1969 through 1982 and led the union local for 12 of those years. Meanwhile, President Obama consistently wears Hartmarx suits (see him showing off the label in the photo above), including on the day of his inauguration.

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Somehow we failed to notice that Mayor Daley was there on Monday during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the former Republic Windows factory (which Serious Materials since reopened). Watch his remarks:

This is a great occasion to drop down the memory hole and refresh everyone's memory on a few things.  First, Daley didn't say a word when the Republic Windows workers began their sit-in last December, only chiming in six days later when a deal had been reached to pay the fired laborers the severance and back-pay they were owed.  Second, it was Daley who created the tax increment financing (TIF) district that funneled $10 million in taxpayer dollars to Republic between 1996 and 2000, only to see the company's owners take advantage of the loosely-termed agreement and move their business to Iowa. 

The company's attempt to skip town -- and short-change its workers in the process -- perfectly illuminated the lack of accountability when it comes to the mayor's "private piggy bank."

Just saying ...

On his swing through Chicago today, Vice President Joe Biden credited the owners of Serious Materials for providing "a story about how we inspire a better tomorrow" through their decision to reopen the former Republic Windows and Doors plant. For evidence that the Goose Island factory is coming back to life, look no further than the dozen former Republic employees who are back on the job. Addressing CEO Kevin Surac during his remarks at the plant this morning, Biden explained why the country needs more businesses like Serious to rebuild the economy:

BIDEN: It's not merely that you have the science, technology and innovation to turn a failed factory into a potentially thriving business that can lead this county ... You've done something that is a little unusual. You recognized, as Sen. Durbin said, that the greatest asset that this factory had was the men and women, the workers that just spoke. And instead of doing what has too often been the case in the last 10 to 15 years, you reached out to the most qualified workers in the the world. Instead of saying 'If you want to come back, I'm going to break your union,' you said 'Come back, union and all.' That's a big deal.

As more orders for energy efficient windows start rolling in -- and the owners are confident they will, thanks to the $8 billion in stimulus funds committed to weatherization and retrofitting -- Serious has pledged to rehire each of the 250 employees who were abruptly thrown out of a job when Republic shut it doors back in December.  Furthermore, Serious hopes to eventually grow its Chicago-based workforce to 600. Continue reading »

When 250 members of United Electrical Workers Local 1110 staged a dramatic sit-in at the shuttered Republic Windows and Doors factory late last year, union advocates asserted that the owners violated federal labor law by not giving their workers 60 days compensation and any unused vacation, as required under the federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act. Turns out, the unionists were right.

According to the Chi Town Daily News, the National Labor Relations Board's regional director ruled yesterday that the decision by Republic Windows owner Richard Gillman to relocate his company to Iowa -- thus avoiding its collective bargaining obligations with the UE -- was illegal. As punishment, the federal agency will seek to fine Republic an amount equalling two weeks of pay for roughly 200 members of Local 1110 who lost their jobs when the plant unexpectedly closed.

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Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow touched on both the Republic Windows legacy and Rod Blagojevich's radio hosting stint in her "Ms. Information" segment.  Watch it:

Yesterday, Serious Materials Vice Chairman Paul Holland spoke at the White House as part of an event focusing on clean energy.  Serious, as you may remember, is the California-based company that recently purchased the former Republic Windows factory on Chicago's Goose Island and agreed to gradually rehire the 250 workers who were so abruptly laid-off last December.  But the former Republic employees aren't the only ones singing Serious' praises.  As Holland himself explained, the company -- which manufactures energy efficient windows and green building materials -- last week re-opened a shuttered windows factory in Vandergrift, PA. Watch his remarks:

I'd take this guy over Richard Gillman any day of the week.

(H/T Lynn Sweet)

UPDATE (7:56 pm): Holland also got a shout-out during President Obama's opening remarks at tonight's primetime press conference: "Yesterday, I met with a man whose company is reopening a factory outside of Pittsburgh that's rehiring workers to build some of the most energy efficient windows in the world."

The Chi-Town Daily News reports on yet more evidence that former Republic Windows owner Richard Gillman is not a very trustworthy businessman.

While the abrupt closure of their factory last December caused quite an ordeal for the Republic workers, it seems pretty clear at this point that they'll be much better off working for Serious Materials (which recently bought the shuttered Chicago plant) than Gillman.

Add Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Dick Durbin to the list of officials heralding Serious Materials for its efforts to revive the former Republic Windows factory.

In separate statements released last night, both Biden and Durbin applauded Serious’ ingenious plan to scoop up the troubled company with some help from the economic recovery package and reshape the focus of the plant, creating 250 “green-collar” jobs in the process. As we noted last week, the California-based company will soon put the former Republic employees back to work manufacturing energy-efficient windows.  These types of windows are now in high demand thanks to the $16 billion worth of stimulus funding for retrofitting and weatherization projects. First, from Biden:

“The reopening of this factory and the rehiring of these workers provide an excellent example of how the money in the Recovery Act is targeted to spur job creation quickly,” said Vice President Biden. “These workers will not only earn a paycheck again; they will go back to work creating products that will benefit America’s long-term economic future.”

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