Unions offer reward for the whereabouts of Mitt Romney’s London fundraising event

Unite and the United Steelworkers (USW), the largest industrial union in the USA and Canada,  are offering a reward for the whereabouts of US Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, who is attending a highly secretive $25,000 to $75,000 a head fundraising event in London tomorrow (Thursday 26 July).

Romney is in town for the opening of the Olympics and to raise funds from rich bankers for his campaign to be the next president of the United States.

The unions want to ‘award’ Romney with two gold medals, one for austerity (for others) and the other for financial secrecy.

Romney’s record does not bode well for U.S. workers. While Romney made a fortune running investment firm Bain Capital, 22 per cent of the companies Bain bought, while Romney headed it, went bankrupt or closed within eight years.

Romney’s economic plan includes cutting corporate regulations, cutting retirement security and cutting 10 per cent of federal jobs.

Romney is pushing to extend tax cuts for the rich, although Romney has paid a lower tax rate than most middle class Americans over the last couple years.

Romney is participating in two separate fundraising events in London on July 26, hosted by banking industry officials. Unite and the USW make up the global union, Workers Uniting which requested the exact locations of the fundraising events in order to deliver the gold medals. Romney’s campaign refused to provide this information.

Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey said:

“Mitt Romney and the UK Prime Minister David Cameron want working people to pay for the financial crisis caused by the bankers.

“It’s no surprise then that Romney is in London for a secretive but lavish fundraising event where bankers and other city elite can continue to back austerity for the 99 per cent while they continue as if it’s business as usual.

“The fact that the event was to be hosted by disgraced former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond speaks volumes.”

Bob Diamond was originally going to host the fundraiser but pulled out after the Libor scandal. Barclays was at the heart of a recent interest rate fixing scandal that could have adversely affected hundreds of thousands of borrowers and mortgage owners.

“Romney has earned a reputation as a jobs destroyer, political flip-flopper and tax avoider,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard, “and now he’s refusing to disclose his tax returns.”

“We feel his commitment to financial secrecy is certainly worthy of the Olympic gold.”

The first person to correctly locate the Mitt Romney fundraiser will win a dinner for two in London at an American style restaurant.

ENDS

Contact: Ciaran Naidoo, Unite on 07768 931 315 or Wayne Ranick, USW on 412-562-2444

Notes to editors:
The USW is the largest industrial union in the USA and Canada. Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest trade union with 1.5 million members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.