Revolt On Goose Island - Panel Discussion

Date:     Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Time:     6:30pm - 9:00pm
Location:     The Chicago Cultural Center, The Claudia Cassidy Theater

It has been one of the most closely watched U.S. labor struggles in recent memory: Ten months ago, 200 workers at Chicago’s Republic Windows and Doors occupied their factory for nine days after owners gave workers just three days’ notice of the plant’s closure. The plant closed after Bank of America cut off the company’s line of credit. The protest, organized by the United Electrical Workers union, was one of the first U.S. factory sit-ins since the 1930s. In the months since the occupation, there have been some surprising turns: the factory was bought, and some of the workers involved in the takeover have returned to their jobs. And just a month ago Richard Gillman, the former chief executive of the company, went to jail. He is accused of conspiring to launder funds from the factory and secretly remove its equipment to a new operation in Iowa.

But will more come of the story? Will the tactics used at Republic be used again?

Washington Post reporter Kari Lydersen, former Chicago Tribune Labor reporter Stephen Franklin, and lawyer, author, and former Democratic congressional candidate Tom Geoghegan will discuss the historic takeover of Chicago’s Republic Windows & Doors factory—and its implications for the future of organized labor. Lydersen is the author of a non-fiction account of the takeover, Revolt on Goose Island, which NewCity called a “clear and emotionally compelling account.” The evening’s discussion will also consider other actions that were inspired by Republic, and ongoing efforts to re-open the factory.

Co-sponsored by Melville House Publishing, The Public Square, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and AREA Chicago

More on the book here: http://www.mhpbooks.com/book.php?id=186

More on AREA Chicago #8, featuring an excerpt of the book here:
http://areachicago.org/p/issues/8/

More on the Public Sq here: http://www.prairie.org/programs/public-square

More on UE at Republic:
http://www.ueunion.org/ue_republic.html

RSVP here http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=168714374536&ref=ts