There are 200 workers sitting-in at a Chicago factory that they claim has stiffed them. And President-elect Obama supports their goals. This raises many questions: Is the sit-in illegal? If so, is Obama supporting an illegal action? More importantly, is Obama inadvertently encouraging workers around the country to pursue similar tactics?

At issue here is Republic Windows and Doors, a Chicago manufacturer that laid off its 200 workers last week and has failed to assure them that it will pay them the severance and vacation money they earned. The workers have responded by sitting-in on the factory floor. Obama said, "The workers who are asking for the benefits and payments that they have earned, I think they're absolutely right and understand that what's happening to them is reflective of what's happening across this economy," according to AP.

I have no legal training, however, it looks to me like a sit-in is a form of trespassing -- assuming that the workers are no longer employees of the company. (A VP of the worker's union said "We expected to go to jail.") My reading of Obama's comment suggests that he supports the workers' goals -- which is to get the money to which they're legally entitled -- while taking no position on the legality of their sit-in. The question is whether other aggrieved workers will miss this subtlety and view Obama's statement as an implicit endorsement of the workers' tactics.