Ian Walsh of FDL notes that the entire situation with the Republic Windows sit-down strike was likely triggered by the $350 billion stimulus package. Basically, following the receipt of bailout money, banks like Bank of America, which had a $50 million line of credit out to the manufacturer, decided that it made sense to hoard cash so that they could buy other banks, so they cut off Republic Windows, which proceeded to collapse like broccoli cooked in a British boarding school kitchen.
It’s amazing how much damage Hank Paulson and His Evil Minions™ have been doing to the country.
Interestingly enough, it now appears that there is some push-back, with Barack Obama supporting the strikers:
“When it comes to the situation here in Chicago with the workers who are asking for their benefits and payments they have earned, I think they are absolutely right,” Obama said Sunday at a news conference announcing his new Veterans Affairs director. “What’s happening to them is reflective of what’s happening across this economy.
Additionally, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has ordered all Illinois agencies to stop doing business with Bank of America.
In 1936-7, the workers in Flint had to contend with National Guardsmen and police trying to evict them.
In 2008, not so much.