An Appeal from SumOfUs:
When the workers at a
window and door factory in Chicago were told their factory was
closing and they would lose their jobs, they decided that instead of
letting the company's global investors determine their fate,
they would raise the money to buy the factory and save their
jobs.
But they can’t do it,
even though they’ve put in a competitive bid on the factory. Why?
Because the owner, Serious Energy, and its global investors
Mesirow Financial, are in a rush to sell the factory to
people who will sell it off for scrap instead.
We can help
the workers save their jobs. Serious and Mesirow know
pressure is mounting, which is why they are rushing to sell the
factory off. If we weigh in today, the workers believe Serious and
Mesirow will have to give them a fair shot at buying the factory and
saving their jobs.
At the end of the day,
this is about much more than saving one factory. This is a chance to
showcase an innovative model of American manufacturing --
worker-owned cooperatives -- and deal another blow to the financial
sector that relies on the failure of these companies to line their
pockets. By saving this factory, we are helping to build a
more just economy for all of us.
Thanks for joining us
in fighting for good jobs,
Claiborne, Kaytee and the rest of us
Claiborne, Kaytee and the rest of us
Background
story:
In February, workers
at an energy efficient-window and door factory in Chicago were told
that their plant -- owned by Serious Energy -- was about to be shut
down, sliced up and sold off for parts.
The workers staged a
factory occupation and got an agreement from Serious to delay the
factory’s liquidation and give workers the opportunity to
buy the plant themselves, with their newly-formed cooperative, New
Era Windows. With no overhead for executive salaries, and
the potential for contracts with the city of Chicago, which is
gearing up for a big energy-efficiency campaign, New Era Windows was
looking at a bright future as a worker-run factory.
But then, after months
of stalling by Serious, the company suddenly announced on
Sunday that all factory bids were due immediately, and that it
wouldn’t accept New Era’s offer of $1.2 million --
instead, it asked for more money than it bought the factory for in
2009, and rigged the process to ensure that New Era didn’t
have a chance.
These workers want a
solution. They have been scraping money together to afford the
factory and save their jobs. And they’ve fought like hell before --
back in 2008 they occupied their factory for six days and stood down
their previous owner who attempted to fire 250 workers without
severance pay.
Part of the pressure to
sell is coming from Serious Energy’s owners, including
Chicago-based Mesirow Financial. For Mesirow, selling the factory off
to vultures means padding its profit by a couple percentage points.
For the workers at New Era, the factory’s sale represents their
livelihoods.
Further Reading:
Workers
seek arbitration to save Goose Island window factory, The
Chicago Tribune, 3 July 2012
Workers vs. Investors: Chicago Window Factory in Danger of Liquidation, The Nation, 5 July 2012
Workers vs. Investors: Chicago Window Factory in Danger of Liquidation, The Nation, 5 July 2012
SumOfUs
is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold
corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new,
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