Protesters gather at Charlotte, NC Bank of America to support Chicago factory sit-in
Union workers in North Carolina stood in solidarity with Chicago sit-down strikers this week when they picketed outside Bank of America's Charlotte headquarters.
Last week 200 workers at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago, Ill. occupied the factory demanding severance and vacation pay after the company abruptly fired them after Bank of America cut off the company's line of credit. Workers, lawmakers and advocates have criticized Bank of America's decision especially in light of the $25 billion bailout they recently received from the federal government.
Employees in Chicago have staged a sit-in since Friday, and workers have vowed to continue it until they receive assurances they would get severance and accrued vacation pay. Workers, who received just three days' notice before the plant shut down, argued that the company also violated federal law because employees were not given 60 days' notice that they would be losing their jobs, reports the New York Times.
The North Carolina protest highlights the Charlotte connection to the labor dispute in Chicago. The sit-in has garnered attention nationwide and has become a symbol of resistance for workers laid off at other factories and businesses across the country.
"We have been sending billions of dollars to banks like Bank of America and the reason we have sent them the money is to tell them that they had to loan this money out to companies just like Republic so that we can keep these companies in business and not lose these jobs here in the United States," Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said from the shuttered plant.
Due to the growing pressure, Tuesday Bank of America agreed to offer limited loans to Republic Windows and Doors so it could resolve claims of laid-off workers staging the sit-in. But a union spokesperson said it's too soon to know if the sit-in will be called off.
