Workers at Republic Windows in Chicago have been staging a sit down strike for nearly a week, protesting the company’s abrupt closure and failure to pay vacation and wages owed under the WARN act. Joining us from the site, Leah Fried, of the United Electrical Workers Union (UE), says that no formal settlement has been reached and negotiations are on going. Workers are owed $3,500 to $4,000 in severance alone. The total cost of vacation and severance owed is $1.5 million. Melvin "Ricky" Maclin a factory worker and Vice President of the local Union, says that although it’s unlikely workers will reopen the factory, there’s always a chance.

It has also been reported that a company managed by the wife of Republic Windows and Doors owner Richard Gillman recently acquired an Iowa plant—a non-union shop–that manufactures similar products. The name of the plant is Echo Windows and Doors and the only contact listed on the company’s website is Republic Window’s former vice president of sales and marketing.