In this 2009 public address at the Serious Materials plant, Roland Burris thanks Mayor Daley, the Vice President, Senator Dick Durbin, labor leaders, and the factory workers. He recounts the December layoffs of 250 employees at Republic Windows and Doors, criticizing the Bush administration’s unconditional TARP bailouts and the lack of relief for the workers. Burris praises President Obama’s swift action, highlighting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that secured $16 billion for weatherization projects, enabling Serious Materials to rehire the displaced workers. He emphasizes the bipartisan effort—particularly the crucial votes of Senators Durbin and Reid—to pass the Recovery Act, and celebrates the plant’s revival as a testament to unity, diversity, and compassionate government. The speech blends political critique, acknowledgment of legislative collaboration, and an optimistic vision for the factory’s future.
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Thank you very much, Mayor Daley. To the distinguished Vice President, Senator Durbin, other elected officials, our congresspersons, our Attorney General, labor leaders, and workers of the factory. Back in December, just before the holidays, bank CEOs were receiving hundreds of billions of dollars from the first half of the Troubled Asset Recovery Program, or TARP. Today, no one can tell us how that money was spent because the Bush administration handed out the relief funds without preconditions. Back in December, the scene here was very different. 250 hardworking people were laid off before Christmas. They did not receive their vacation or severance pay. They did not get relief. Workers asked how banks could get no-question-asked bailouts, and they, the workers of Republican Windows and Doors, could not even get what was owed to them for their hard labor and work. On occasion, Americans say no. They said enough is enough, and they simply refused to give in to something that horribly Unfair. These workers refused to yield in this plant. They refused to leave. Just as the nation heard auto workers in the 1930s, the civil rights protesters in the 1950s and '60s, the nation heard the workers of Republic Windows and Doors. What happened to these workers and their families is an example of the crisis we're in and the importance of President Obama's plan. Back in December, President-elect Obama stated that the former owners of Republic Windows and Doors should follow through on his commitment to its workers. Once sworn in, he wasted no time and went further. He promptly introduced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and I and Senator Durbin voted for that act, which barely did pass. And he did. Every single vote counted because only 3 Republicans total, members of the Senate, voted with us as Democrats. The bill passed, and as a direct result, we stand here today with a brighter future. The $16 billion in funding made available through weatherization projects allows Serious Materials to rehire or to eventually rehire all 250 workers plus of the workers of Republic Windows and Doors within weeks. The decision by the workers to not leave was forged in the fires of their own suffering and fear. The president resolved to help these and millions of American workers was forged in his own life experience as an organizer. These experiences stand in stark contrast to the views that guided our nation to collapse during the Bush administration. This is why diversity is the highest place of government, and it's the only way to ensure that we will give substance to compassion. We finally have solutions that match the challenges we face. And I said back in December that the closure of this company and the discarding of its workers were avoidable. Ladies and gentlemen, all leaders here, the future is something people construct. Republic Windows and Doors and its workers are back in business on a day we helped create together. We in Illinois are proud to host the Vice President of this great country as we recognize the optimistic future of this factory and its workers. I'm particularly glad to be here today with my senior senator, Senator Durbin. It was under Durbin's capable leadership in the Senate that we were able to pass the Recovery Act with just 3 Republican votes. I want you all to know how difficult it was to get those 3 votes. And our leaders, Senator Reid and Senator Durbin, had to labor night and day trying to get those votes. And it is no easy task, and there's a lot of sleepless nights, but Senator Durbin and Senator Reid were able to build a vital coalition. It shows that we can— what we all can accomplish when we work together. I'm pleased to have a partner in Washington that represents the great state of Illinois. We are pleased to have the distinguished Vice President with us. to make sure that this factory goes forward. Now it's my pleasure to introduce the senior citizen of the great state of Illinois, Senator— senior senator. I did it again, Dick. I did that at a committee hearing one time, too. He's our senior senator, because I am older than he is, Ron Powell. I'm older than Dick Durbin. So at this time, our senior senator, Dick Durbin.
