Armando Robles: the union leader shares lessons from the six-day occupation of a Chicago factory by more than 250 workers.(Q&A)(Interview)

You're president of Local 1110 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America in Chicago. How did the sit-in at the Republic Windows and Doors factory in December of 2008 begin? It all started one night when the plant manager turned off all the lights and told us we had to leave and not to come back. He said the workday was over and that we had to go home. Talking in the parking lot, we tried to figure out what was going on. Then, three cars came with ex-supervisors and we saw them begin to put things in a U-Haul truck. They were loading computers, screens, files, cabinets and other office supplies. At that point, we became suspicious.

The next weekend, I went back to the factory. A manager said that nobody was going to work at the site anymore and that the whole operation was going to shut down. That Saturday, we saw two trailers being loaded with more work supplies. We called the union and started organizing the workers. We also began to monitor the factory. We even asked one of the trailer drivers where they were taking the equipment. He said he did not know. Later, we found out the company was relocating.

How did you and the other workers decide to occupy the plant? The union had an executive board meeting where we agreed to occupy the factory and we began to recruit volunteers. In the beginning, there were six of us. That number grew as the days passed, and in total, we represented over 250 workers.

The union sat and talked with the owner of Republic who said he was returning the machines that he had been renting, which were being loaded and shipped off. He also said that Bank of America was cutting off their credit and he had to close the plant. He acted as if he did not care about us. We were told that Friday, Dec. 5, would be our last day.

What motivated all of you and what kept you inspired?

We were told we were not going to get our vacation pay, our health insurance would be canceled immediately and our last two weeks pay would probably bounce.

We had nothing else to lose. We needed to fight for our basic rights. This motivated us to rally and unite together, and we were ...