A sit-in at a closed Chicago factory has entered its fifth day as laid off union workers refuse to leave until the plant is reopened or they receive severance pay and accrued vacation time. The Republic Windows and Door factory closed last week after Bank of America cut off the company’s line of credit. The factory owners gave workers just three days of notice of the plant’s closure. Many of the plant’s 250 union workers have been occupying the plant since Friday. The laid-off workers are members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 1110. On Monday, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich ordered state agencies to stop doing business with Bank of America until it uses some of its federal bailout money to keep the factory open.

Rod Blagojevich: “So unless and until they do that, we, the state of Illinois, will suspend doing any business with the Bank of America, and we hope that this kind of leverage and pressure will encourage the Bank of America to do the right thing for this business, take some of that federal tax money that they’ve received and invest it by providing the necessary credit to this company so these workers can keep their jobs.”

Political leaders on the Chicago City Council and in Cook County threatened similar actions against Bank of America.