Bainport Is Growing

 Posted by at 10:05 am  Politics
Oct 132012
 

Willard Romney is infamous for offshoring US manufacturing jobs to China.  He’s talked about getting tough on China, but it is clear that he is lying about this, just as he is about so many other issues.  In this case, money is flowing into his offshore accounts even now, while US workers are losing their jobs because of his insatiable greed.

13bainportFrench Samsonite workers who were laid off and robbed of their severance pay by Bain Capital will join Freeport Sensata workers for a rally at “Bainport” in Freeport, Ill., at 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 13.

The rally is in protest of Bain’s decision to close the Freeport, Ill., Sensata Technologies plant and outsource 170 jobs to China. The plant is set to close in November.

“We’re coming to Bainport to show our support for American workers fighting against the same economic model that destroys good jobs likes ours in France,” said Samsonite worker Brigitte Petit. “The struggle to save these Sensata jobs from outsourcing is a struggle on behalf of good jobs across the globe.”

Sensata Technologies, 2520 S. Walnut Road, Freeport, which was created by Bain Capital in 2006, develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and controls for major auto manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors.

Despite rising profits, the company plans to institute the final layoffs in November. The workers are training their Chinese replacements, who have been flown to Illinois by the company.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is a co-founder of Bain Capital, the private equity investment firm that created Sensata. According to SEC filings, Romney served as CEO of Bain Capital from its founding in 1984 until 2002. Romney, however, has repeatedly said he left the company in 1999.

Each weekend brings new supporters to Bainport, the workers’ encampment at Stephenson County Fairgrounds, 2250 S. Walnut Road, Freeport… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Rock River Times>

Photo credit: Interoccupy.net

Kudos to the French workers standing beside their US brothers and sisters.  Ed Schultz covered the Bainport story in detail.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Note that Romney controls 51% of Sensata through his Bain holdings.  He claims that he no longer makes decisions at Bain, but he does not object to pocketing the profit.  He says his holdings are controlled by a blind trust.  The trustee is a close personal friend, so all it would take to change this is one whisper, between laughing at the little people.  For someone who does not care about 47% of Americans, he certainly is good at putting hard working people into that group.  If you want jobs in the US, do bot elect a vulture capitalist!

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  23 Responses to “Bainport Is Growing”

  1. Rixar13 says:
    October 13, 2012 at 11:12 am

    Bainport

    Despite rising profits, the company plans to institute the final layoffs in November. The workers are training their Chinese replacements, who have been flown to Illinois by the company.

    This is in my opinion the most important story to communicate to the 47% (myself included), unconsciounable…

  2. SoINeedAName says:
    October 13, 2012 at 2:42 pm

    There's a nice summary of the issues in another post at Daily Kos:
     

    •    Romney makes $450,000 per week from his blind trust.
    •    Bain is closing a factory and shipping equipment and jobs to China
    •    The US government has paid $780,000 retraining fired Sensata workers.
    •    Bain can deduct the expense of moving to China from US taxes.
    •    US workers at the Sensata factory have to train their Chinese replacements.
    •    Romney owns about $8 million worth of Bain funds that hold 51 percent of Sensata’s shares.
    •    These are high-tech, well-paid jobs performed by skilled American workers.
    •    Workers in the Sensata factory in China make 99 cents an hour.
    •    Chinese laborers work 12-hour shifts, 7 days per week.
    •    Chinese workers are housed 2 to 3 to a room in barracks
    •    The American workers set records for profits for Sensata

     
    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/13/1144087/-More-on-Bain-Moving-Sensata-to-China
     
    I grew up not far from Freeport, and we played them occasionally in sports.  And interesting bit of trivia is that they' are called the Freeport "Pretzels".
    They got that mascot nickname because back in its founding Freeport had a large brewery, but the city didn't think it a good idea to nickname a high school the "Brewers" because of they were just kids.  But since they thought everyone agrees that Pretzels go well with beer, they became the Freeport "Pretzels".

  3. Gypsy says:
    October 13, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grQTuIYnreg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
     
    Very informative video about the company Sensata  in Freeport, IL.  Evidently while some of the Chinese were over here, the American Flag was taken down and replaced by the Chinese Flag, then after they left, the American Flag went back up.
    Any fool that would vote for Romney and his little co-hort should have to go live in one of the little rooms that house the Chinese women (three to a small room) should be sent to China forever.

    • Gypsy says:
      October 13, 2012 at 5:25 pm

      Picture of the Chinese flag being flown.

      Link Removed at Gypsy's request.   TC

    • TomCat says:
      October 14, 2012 at 8:23 am

      Excellent video, Gypsy.  As for the error, I make mistakes all the time, and I just take reasonability for it and move on.  Thew video is well worth watching now that we know its context. 🙂

  4. Lynn Squance says:
    October 14, 2012 at 12:04 am

    In 1998, I had to train someone to do my job.  I worked for The National Trust Company and it had been bought up by The Bank of Nova Scotia (aka Bank of Screwy Notions).  I had to introduce my clients to this new person who was a very nice woman.  My clients protested my lay off but it was for naught.  The only differences in my story and the Bainport story were that 1) Bain Capital was not involved, but the Bank of Nova Scotia was; and 2) my job was taken over by a Canadian, not someone overseas.  Believe me it hurt nonetheless.
     
    In 1999, I started working for HSBC Bank Canada in its mortgage broker unit.  We were a small unit comprising underwriters, mortgage administrators and management.  Over the time I was there, we grew so much that the department was eventually split into underwriting in one building and administration in another some 15 km away.  Eventually, one of the managers from the administration unit was sent to India with a team to set up a documentation centre there.  Now mortgage administration for Canada is done in India.  And that also happened with the payroll department.  First it was outsourced to the US which had absolutely no concept of Canadian payroll regulations etc.  Since then, the whole payroll of the US and Canada is now done in India.  And if we had problems with the first outsource, we had even more with the second.  Even some of the managers in Human Resources agreed that these moves should never have happened but they did, all in pursuit of the almighty dollar!
     
    I truly feel for these people.  I understand my hurt and anger and frustration, and can only assume they feel somewhat the way I felt.  That is why it is so important to be active in the issues.  That is why  Martin Niemöller's poem resonates with me and why I print it a second time today.
     

    First they came for the communists,
    and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
     
    Then they came for the socialists,
    and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.
     
    Then they came for the trade unionists,
    and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
     
    Then they came for me,
    and there was no one left to speak for me.

     
    Get out the vote!!!!!
     
    Vote Democratic 2012!!!!!     Vote Obama/Biden 2012!!!!!

    • TomCat says:
      October 14, 2012 at 8:28 am

      I would almost have been inclined to tell the new owner to take a long flying you know what off a short pier.

      I guess you have Banksters too.

      If Rmoney has his way, we'd outsource Congress,

      Amen

      Amen!

      • Lynn Squance says:
        October 14, 2012 at 9:48 am

        I would have been tempted to tell BNS to take that long walk off a short pier, except by clients deserved better.  My conscience would not let me turn my back on my clients.  Even the girl that I was training, when she figured out what was happening, was in tears and angry with the Bank.  On my last day, a Saturday, I was in charge of the office and had to throw the keys in an envelope back through the mail slot.  How's that for trust?!

  5. Patty says:
    October 14, 2012 at 3:38 am

    There is no end to Rmoney's chicanery.

  6. Diane says:
    October 19, 2012 at 9:15 pm

    What a repulsive,greedy man Romney is (if you can call him that) He needs to be stopped! We can do that simply by getting out the vote for OBAMA!  Money does not always rule, if we all stick together!!!
     

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