Chicago window factory sale a bright spot in dismal economy

San Jose Mercury News (MCT) - Silicon Valley CEO Kevin Surace never saw himself as the Norma Rae type.

But there he was in December, touring a Chicago window factory that had become famous weeks earlier when union workers seized it after its owner shut it down, laid them off and left town without paying their due severance. About 260 workers, many longtime employees, lost their jobs but not their dignity.

The emotional early December protest drew preachers, politicians, support from a president-elect and crews from national news organizations.

And as the drama played out, Surace, chief executive of Serious Materials, a Sunnyvale, Calif., company that makes eco-friendly drywall and energy-saving windows, watched the spectacle from California.

"All they wanted was their severance," Surace said. "We watched that and decided to do something about it."

What he decided to do was buy the shuttered Republic Windows and Doors factory to expand his company, which is growing quickly along with the green building movement. So he called Armando Robles, a factory worker and union president whose name he saw in the newspaper.

By then workers had won their battle for their money and left the factory. But their jobs appeared gone for good. At least until Surace's call led to a deal that will reopen the plant.

"We're really enthusiastic about being in a situation where we're helping to create jobs in this economy," said Mark Meinster, a spokesman for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. "This is just a great story for workers. A bright spot in this economy."

Another glimmer amid the economic gloom. The kind of story I've been looking for in the current downturn. The kind of story that, frankly, has been hard to find.

These glimmers don't just happen on their own. Getting through this economic calamity is going to take fresh thinking and courage on the part of people like Surace, who are in a position to help.

His is a good-news story made possible by a confluence of events. First, Surace believes that corporations have a responsibility to make the world a better place. Second, Serious, a company with about 200 workers, was eager to establish itself in the Midwest. And Surace knew that the stimulus bill President Barack Obama signed recently would have plenty of money for weatherizing buildings.

"What gave us the confidence to do this was the stimulus bill," he says, estimating the package includes about $30 billion for projects using the types of products Serious makes.

You've got to admit, Surace's move was not a conventional one: Go out and buy a failed factory where the workforce had mounted a revolt against its bosses.

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Surace acknowledged that he didn't know what to expect in dealing with a union.

"What I found was not a set of angry, tough people to work with," he said. "It was a set of really good people who'd been at the factory for 10 or 15 years and all they wanted to do was make windows."

The two parties agreed on a contract not very different from the previous one that resulted in an average wage of about $14 an hour and provided decent benefits. Serious Materials representatives also negotiated with the factory's creditors, and this week the bankruptcy court approved a $1.45 million deal. "We just got the keys," Surace said.

Much needs to be done. Equipment has to be repaired and replaced. Surace is negotiating a lease with the owner of the Chicago building that houses the factory.

But if all goes well, the workers whose December protest captured the nation's attention will soon find themselves back at work making the windows they've wanted to make all along.

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(Mike Cassidy is a technology columnist for the San Jose Mercury News. E-mail: mcassidy@mercurynews.com.

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© 2009, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.).