Former Republic Windows and Doors President Goes to Jail

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/4875/former_republic_windows_and_doors_president_goes_to_jail/

Thursday September 10 5:17 pm

Remember Richard Gillman?


Richard Gillman, president of the now-defunct Republic Windows and Doors company. (Photo from ProgressIllinois.com)


Last December, the former president of Republic Windows and Doors factory was thrust into the national media spotlight after more than 250 unionized workers at the Chicago plant occupied their workplace to demand the severance pay, benefits and back pay owed them by law.

Gillman was arrested at his condo in Chicago Wednesday morning and charged with felony theft and money laundering, among other things. He is accused of stealing manufacturing equipment from the Goose Island plant to open a non-union factory in Iowa. A judge has set Gillman's bond at $10 million, an amount he's unlikely to post—meaning he'll remain in jail. (Gillman is appealing the bond amount, the AP reported.

Progress Illinois reports:

In a bond hearing this morning, prosecutors testified that Gillman, along with other company officials, absconded with 10 semi-trailers full of equipment and conspired to launder company money through shell corporations to avoid paying out its creditors, which include JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and General Electric. The charges against Gillman include mail fraud, money laundering, organizing and continuing a financial crime enterprise, and felony theft charges.

Last December, after Gillman gave Republic employees—members of United Electrical (UE) Workers Local 1100—three days notice before closing the Chicago factory, UE representatives claimed Gillman violated various labor laws. They were right: Under Illinois law, companies must give their employees 75 days notice of layoffs.

Workers took over the factory after Gillman said he couldn't pay workers more than $1 million, in part because Bank of America refused to extend credit to keep the factory open. Remarkably, the conflict ended happily for workers after bailout-recipient Bank of America and other creditors extended financing to the company, which sold the Chicago factory to a California company named Serious Materials this spring, as Working In These Times has reported.

From the very beginning of the conflict last December, UE representatives alleged that Republic violated law by removing machinery from the plant as it closed. Indeed, just as he announced the closing of the Chicago factory, Gillman was establishing a separate business, Echo Windows & Doors, LLC., and planning to relocate Republic production to a nonunion plant in Iowa. (For the full story, read this David Moberg story from December.)

FULL story at link.

[thunder rising]

1. Anybody can short change labor ... but fuck with JP ... bad, bad, bad

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. This protest was when it hit home for me.

The people aren't going to take it anymore.

I was very proud of those workers and even more elated to see karma come around so quickly for Mr. Gillman! :D