Wow. Chalk one up for the good guys. After 5 days of a peaceful occupation of the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Illinois, which included a weekend of what had reportedly been productive talks between Republic workers who simply want the pay and benefits they've earned and Bank of America, which is Republic's creditor, it looks like, as The AP's headline puts it: "workers win."

Bank of America says it will extend credit to a Chicago window and door maker whose workers have occupied the factory for five days.

The bank said Tuesday that it's willing to give the Republic Windows and Doors factory "a limited amount of additional loans." That's so it can resolve claims of employees who have staged a sit-in since Friday.

The factory closed Friday after Bank of America canceled its financing.

Workers were given three days' notice. But they refused to leave and vowed to stay there until receiving assurances they would receive severance and accrued vacation pay.

This was a very important victory not only for the workers in that particular factory but potentially for workers all over the country in particular to the extent that it put a human face on the importance of unions in winning workers the pay and benefits they deserve.

As Scarecrow says:

We're likely to see thousands of dramas just like this all over the country, as more and more businesses teeter on the solvency edge and slip over into bankruptcy. In the Republic case, we had a union willing to support the workers in their courageous sit in, and to bargain with the company's bank. That example is going to be seen, understood and reenacted across the country.

Also, it's worth watching Rachel Maddow's piece on the protest. As she says, what a huge difference it makes when the (incoming) president supports worker protests such as this.