Bain, Romney Sell Out American Workers to China for Profits
Contact: Tim Waters, USW, 412-999-3587
Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today released a new video that exposes the truth about how Mitt Romney and Bain Capital are profiting by selling out American workers by shipping U.S. jobs to China.
In the video, posted on the union’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/steelworkers, workers in Freeport, Ill., share their painful story about how Bain-controlled Sensata Technologies is right now moving equipment out of the plant and sending 170 good, American jobs to China. Hundreds of USW members also have seen their plants close and jobs slashed after Bain Capital bought them.
“Mitt Romney likes to say that he knows nothing about tax breaks for off-shoring American jobs, or that he shouldn’t be held accountable for Bain Capital’s actions since he’s no longer CEO. But our video shows the truth about the kind of economy Romney wants, and it exposes the fact that he continues to own shares in Bain-controlled companies like Sensata that profit from sending these good jobs to China,” said Leo W. Gerard, USW International President.
The New York Times reported July 18, 2012: “[Mitt Romney] owns about $8 million worth of Bain funds that hold 51 percent of Sensata’s shares. If Sensata saves money by closing the Freeport plant, that could add money to Mr. Romney’s trust accounts, now or after the election.”
“It’s bad enough that more hard-working Americans are having their lives ruined by Bain, but we now know the conditions at Sensata plants in China are terrible, with young Chinese workers forced to work nearly around the clock with no rights for a fraction of the American wages. This is just wrong,” Gerard said.
Charles Kernaghan, director, of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, describes in the video the results of his institute’s investigation of Sensata plants in China, where mostly young women work for about 99 cents an hour, seven days a week, 12 hours a day.
“This race to the bottom may be making folks like Mitt Romney rich, but it’s destroying the lives of ordinary Americans and Chinese workers,” Kernaghan said. “This isn’t the American Dream – it’s a nightmare.” Kernahan’s report can be downloaded here.
This release is paid for by the United Steelworkers Political Action Fund, Five Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America and has 850,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. It represents workers employed in metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining, atomic energy and the service sector. For more info: www.usw.org.
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