Just The Beginning

No doubt, many have been following this story out of Chicago.

Chicago window factory workers in the fourth day of a sit-in at their former workplace, Republic Windows and Doors factory are meeting Monday with politicians, company owners and bank officials to resolve the standoff. Gov. Rod Blagojevich ordered the state to suspend business with the bank that pulled the factory's line of credit. CBS 2's Mai Martinez was there.

The company shut down abruptly on Friday after Bank of America canceled its line of credit due to a sharp downturn in Republic's business.

The laid-off workers continue to guard the assets inside their Goose Island plant in around the clock shifts to make sure the items are not removed. They say the remaining doors, windows, and machinery are the only collateral they have left in their fight to get what they feel they are owed.

The 300 workers demanding severance and vacation pay have become a national symbol for thousands of employees laid off nationwide when President-elect Barack Obama took their side.

Details from the company's perspective are sketchy right now, as they have yet to make any statements, other than the bank suspended its line of credit. Right now the only ones talking are the union, race-baiting Jesse Jackson, and anyone else who wants his/her name on the news.

This is reminiscent of 1920s pre-Mussolini Italy, when workers took over factories and then had to close them after running them into the ground. This may be somewhat different, but the rebellious thug mentality is no different. This time, everyone involved here is instantly taking the side of the workers, without understanding the plight of the company.

Don't get me wrong, it's very sad these workers have lost their jobs. I have lost jobs due to recession, it's not fun. It's not fun, when you are the type of person that merely wants to be self-sufficient and not be a burden on society. But the orders dry up, the bank pulls the plug on the credit, and now the workers are canned. That's the way things have always been in business: sometimes there is work, other times not. It's all based on the amount of business, the company is or isn't doing.

In this business, it sounds like the construction industry plays a huge role in how well this particular business does; and with the numbers of buildings being built dropping dramatically, it makes sense that not many windows and doors are being bought or sold, right now. A company such as this cannot keep making things that no one wants to buy, therefore, they have no need for a workforce.

The real problem with this story becomes the reaction of the workers and the attention/support the big names are giving it. But beyond this, it's hard to know what the objective is. Severance packages and vacation pay may be the central issue for the cameras and the reporters, but what is it beyond that? What happens if for some reason these people are given their demands? Will they keep their jobs? Not if there is no market for the products.

They can get angry at Bank of America, which got some bailout money from the government. But where does it say the money BOA received has to be specifically used for a company, located in Chicago, which isn't solvent? How will BOA ever be expected to recuperate it, if the company cannot stay afloat?

Folks, the workers are getting bad advice to strongarm their way into some of that bailout money. Using unions, Jesse Jackson, and now the President-Elect as leverage, the workers are demanding they be compensated from money that doesn't belong to them and they didn't earn.

Where is this headed? Every time a company needs to go out of business, we can expect more of the same behavior. Empowering thuggery is a big mistake, because it invites more of the same. What else will happen as a result of this? In the end, it will only serve to make businesspeople hesitant to take risks and open new companies, in the future.


UPDATE:

This story was breaking as I was typing this post.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested by FBI agents on federal corruption charges Tuesday morning.

Blagojevich and Harris were arrested simultaneously at their homes at about 6:15 a.m., according to Frank Bochte of the FBI. Both were awakened in their residences and transported to FBI headquarters in Chicago.

In one charge related to the appointment of a senator to replace Barack Obama, prosecutors allege that Blagojevich sought appointment for himseld as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union, in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate.

Another charge alleges Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of him in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co.

Who wants to bet this gets squashed, once Obama gets in office?

Folks, the Chicago machine is just getting revved up.


MORE: For more on the factory situation, AC at Fore Left has some things to say that we might all consider.