Two Chicago-area labor disputes are inspiring plans for a national hotline. The goal is to stop banks that have received federal bailout money from closing down companies in financial trouble.

Employees at a Hartmarx Corp. suit factory in northwest suburban Des Plaines on Monday threatened a sit-in. They’re afraid the company’s main lender, Wells Fargo & Co., is pressing for an owner who will liquidate the plant.

The sit-in tactic helped laid-off employees of Republic Windows and Doors win severance packages in December after Bank of America Corp. cut off the Chicago company’s credit.

Services Employees International Union, the nation’s second-largest union, is setting up the hotline. Jerry Morrison directs the union’s Illinois council.

MORRISON: We know, once we get this registry up and running, we’re going to find probably hundreds of companies across the country that are in very a similar situation.

Morrison says the union will dispatch support teams.

MORRISON: It means sit-ins. It means direct action on banks and/or employers.

He says the call center will serve workers whether or not they have a union. SEIU says it’s unveiling the hotline’s toll-free number Thursday.