The sit-in at a Chicago window factory ended after five days during which laid-off workers protested to pressure banks into giving the factory a loan. They succeeded as the banks agreed to lend the failed company a total of $1.75 million to be used for outstanding wages and benefits.

After the representatives of Republic Windows & Doors, United Electrical Workers and Bank of America reached an agreement, the sit-in was officially declared over by Armando Robles, president of the UEW Local 1110. After that, the approximately 200 workers went to their homes after five days of what they called a "peaceful occupation" of the Republic Windows and Doors.

The factory had given its workers a three days notice of the layoffs and told them that the cause of that measure was the fact that Bank of America had cut off financing to Republic Windows & Doors.

Under the federal law, a company must give workers 60 days lay off notice or pay them 60 days compensation when it closes the plant.

Bank of America agreed to lend the company $1.35 million so it can pay the obligations to the workers. The rest of $400,000 (to use strictly for the protesting employees) came from J.P. Morgan Chase, which owns 40 percent of the windows company.

Now that the company has the money it owes the laid-off workers, each of them will receive about $7,000 under the package, said union official Carl Rosen. He seized the opportunity to underline that, besides the money, this was a great chance to prove what workers can achieve when they “organize and stand up.” The sum of $7,000 is the severance owed to more than 200 laid-off workers as well as vacation time they had accumulated.

“Yes we can!” chanted the workers carrying sleeping bags while leaving the factory late Wednesday after the five day sit-in.

The pressure on the parties involved in the negotiations snowballed with each day and especially after politicians in Illinois talked of inquiries into the owners of Republic and Bank of America. The bank was criticized by lawmakers for cutting credit to the windows factory despite the fact that, not long ago, Bank of America had received $25 billion from the government's financial bailout package.

The workers did get laid off, but they didn’t walk out of it with empty pockets and they are "very, very satisfied" with the agreement, said Mark Meinster of the United Electrical Workers union.

Meinster emphasized that this should serve as an example for workers across the nation who find themselves in similar situations. He also said that this should also send a message to banks that benefited from the bailout package and forgot that they were bailed out in order to continue financing companies such as Republic Windows & Doors.