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CHICAGO—About 600 workers at a
suburban textile factory here voted on May 11 to occupy their plant if
a proposed liquidation by creditor Wells Fargo goes through. Taking
inspiration from last winter’s victorious Republic Windows occupation,
the workers at HartMarx, represented by the
union Workers United, are demanding that Wells Fargo allow the company
to be bought by investors who will keep the company operational and
save their jobs. Hartmarx designs and produces upscale clothing brands,
including suits and tuxedos for President Obama.
The
company filed for bankruptcy in January. Wells Fargo, the company’s
largest creditor, has sought to suspend further credit and to liquidate
the 122-year-old Chicago-based company, putting 3600 mostly immigrant
workers (at several facilities in the Midwest and Rochester, N.Y.) on the street. Wells Fargo
insists that the bank needs to recoup as much of its loan as
possible—regardless of the consequences for the workers. Workers United
has criticized Wells Fargo’s position, noting that the bank received
$25 billion in federal TARP money.
Hartmarx
management signed a deal with the London-based private equity firm, Emerisque, and the India-based textile company,
SKNL America, to be the preferred bidders to purchase the company’s
assets and emerge from bankruptcy. Emerisque
has offered to pay 80 cents on the dollar for the $114 million Hartmarx
owes Wells Fargo and to continue operations at the company’s U.S. factories.
But
Wells Fargo has threatened to cut off credit to the company if Emerisque is chosen as the preferred bidder, and
the bank will object in bankruptcy court. Wells Fargo will ask the
judge to select a bidder who will liquidate the assets and pay back
more to the bank.
Workers
have held rallies outside the factory and organized a campaign to
demand that Wells Fargo support bids that would save jobs. Forty-three
members of Congress have signed a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner asking him to pressure Wells Fargo.
Illinois State Treasurer Alex Giannoulis has
threatened to withdraw $8 billion of state deposits in Wells Fargo if
Hartmarx is liquidated.
The
workers at Hartmarx average around $12 per hour. Workers would be hard
pressed to find a job that pays close to that if they were laid off—if
they could find any job at all.
The
Hartmarx workers have a strong labor tradition to look back to; 30,000 Chicago textile workers at Hartmarx
struck the company in 1910. The militant strike of mostly immigrant workers
won representation for the workers and led to the founding of the
United Garment Workers Union, one the predecessor unions of Workers
United. The victory was won through violent struggle; three workers
were killed by company goons during the fight.
A successful
fight at Hartmarx and for workers everywhere who face layoffs, wage
cuts, and other attacks on their living standards will require a return
to their militant traditions.
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