(image by Jobs for Justice via flickr)

Last week, over 200 factory workers were laid off from the Republic Windows and Doors plant in Chicago. They didn't go home. Instead, the workers began a six-day sit-in to protest unfair practices by their employer. The laid-off workers, who are mostly Latino, were being denied severance and vacation pay by Republic Windows, which closed its doors after losing its financing from Bank of America. The factory, which only gave its workers a three-day notice about the lay-offs (a 60-day notice is required by law), was occupied by upset employees who said they would remain at work until they were paid what they were owed.

Plant worker Raul Flores: "We are very upset to see a situation where the banks get a bailout with money out of our pockets, and we all get fired.” President-elect Barack Obama, who began his political career in Chicago, voiced his support: “I think they’re absolutely right and understand that what’s happening to them is reflective of what’s happening across this economy.”

Bank of America soon bowed to the pressure and announced it would provide loans to the Republic Windows and Doors plant so it could pay its workers. JP Morgan & Chase also offered $400,000 on the condition that “every cent go immediately to the workers so they can have a good Christmas.” After days of negotiations, the workers finally agreed to a $1.75 million settlement with Bank of America. Estimated at $7,000 per worker, each employee will receive eight weeks' salary, vacation pay and two months' paid health care.

Plant worker Lalo Muñoz: "We lost the jobs but we got something."

Nigel Holt doesn't want you to pay for his music. At least, not yet: "if people don't know who the fuck you are, you have a lot of nerve being like 'Check out my music, AND buy it.'"

Influenced by old school rap with his totally '80s flow and his spare, bass heavy beats, Hollywood Holt raised his profile the new school way: mixtapes and MySpace. His tongue-in-cheek lyrics about girls, parties and skateboards are helping make Chicago an epicenter for left-of-center hip hop with artists like The Cool Kids, Kid Sister and Kid Cudi. According to the twentysomething: "the gangsta shit is old, the ballin' shit is old, all that shit is old."

Purveyor of all things "cool," Kanye West appears to agree. West co-signed for the twentysomething by posting Holt's video, Hollywood, on his popular blog.

The founder of the Murder Crew – the "first black-founded moped gang in the country" – Holt and producer Million $ Mano flipped Rich Boy's Throw Some D's to create Throw a Kit, a memorable ode to their nerd wheels. His mixtape, Holt Goes to Hollywood , features more good-humored verses over beats from underground artists like Feist, Mic Terror and MY!GAY!HUSBAND!. On the strength of his mixtape and high-energy live shows, Holt has rolled through Lollapalooza and the CMJ's Music Marathon, sharing the stage with acts like Lupe Fiasco and Dizzee Rascal.

Confident and sarcastic, Hollywood Holt is currently working on his debut album: "It's going to be the best album of all time, ever."

See: myspace.com/holtgoestohollywood

Los Horóscopos De Durango was moving bodies on the dance floor before some of the group's current members were born.

A family affair, Los Horóscopos are one of the bands credited for the recent rise of duranguense, a stripped-down, electronic take on banda music. Founded in 1975 by Armando Terrazas, the Chicago-based group performed with all-male lineups for decades until sisters Vicky (vocals, trumpet) and Marisol Terrazas (vocals, accordion, keyboards, sax) took over in 2000. Backed by cousin Leonardo Terrazas (sax), Oscar Ponce (percussion, keyboards), Héctor Arreguín (bass drum), Roberto Marín (keyboard, tuba), Martín Alonso Leyva (sax) y Héctor Villaseñor (drums), the sisters help Los Horóscopos stand out in a male-dominated industry.

Known for their sultry vocals, tight miniskirts and healthy cleavage, the Terrazas sisters boosted Los Horóscopos to the top of the sales charts with the albums Locos de Amor (Crazy From Love), Y Seguimos Con Duranguense (And We Continue With Duranguense), Antes Muertas Que Sencillas (We'd Rather Be Dead Than Ordinary) and the Latin Grammy-winning Desatados (Unbound).

Like many other duranguense outfits, Los Horóscopos scored hits with covers of pop and dance songs: Monchy y Alexandra's Dos Locos and Pandora's Como Te Va Mi Amor. Their latest album, Ayer Hoy Y Siempre, continues the band's formula for success, with the Marco Antonio Solis-penned Te Amo as well as a cover of the '80s hit Bazar by Mexican teen-pop trio Flans.

In recent months, three members, Braulio Muro, Ismael Hernandez and Noel Garcia, defected from the group to form Dezatados, citing creative differences. In other genres, this might spell the death of a dynasty but not unlike Banda El Recodo, the Grammy-winning Los Horóscopos are carrying on a tradition of multiple lineup changes under the same name. Founder Armando Terrazas: "My biggest accomplishment is seeing my daughters achieve what I couldn't."