Romney's campaign bus has been very careful to avoid Freeport, Ill., in spite of citizens' urgent invitations to him to come and help them.
Employees at Freeport’s Sensata Technologies plant are reaching out to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, in attempts to save their jobs.
The Massachusetts-based Sensata Technologies has announced it plans to close the Freeport plant in December and outsource 170 jobs to China. Sensata workers are training their Chinese replacements, who have been flown to Illinois by the company.
Sensata was created by Bain Capital in 2006 and develops, manufactures and sells sensors and controls for major auto manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors.
Bain Capital is a private equity investment firm co-founded by Romney in 1984. Romney served as CEO of the company from 1984 until 2002, according to SEC filings (Romney, however, has repeatedly said he left the company in 1999).
The Freeport City Council voted 8-0 July 16 to support a resolution to call on Romney to visit Freeport and help save the employees’ jobs.
“We’re grateful to the city council for standing with us in this fight to save our jobs,” said Cheryl Randecker, who has worked at the plant for 33 years. “It’s not just our jobs on the line, but also the future of our community. We hope Romney will join us in this fight, and make it clear that he stands with American workers — not companies like Bain that want to ship our jobs overseas.”
In recent weeks, Sensata workers have kept the pressure on Romney with a signed letter to the campaign, frequent protests outside the plant and a community meeting to educate Freeport residents about the impending layoffs. ...Rock River Times
According to a report from John Nichols, Romney left the campaign bus and flew on to his next destination in order to avoid Freeport and Sensata.
Who is... who was Sensata?
ATTLEBORO, Massachusetts (April 27, 2006) – Sensata Technologies, Inc., formerly the Sensors & Controls business of Texas Instruments Incorporated, today announced that Bain Capital, LLC, a leading global private investment firm, has completed its purchase of the company. The total value of the transaction, which was announced on January 9, 2006, is $3.0 billion.
The sale creates a standalone company that is the global leader in the sensors and controls business. Headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts and with additional manufacturing and technology development centers located in Brazil, China, Holland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Mexico, the company also has sales offices around the world. Sensata Technologies employs 5,400 people, including 3,750 in the Americas, 1,350 in Asia, and 300 in Europe.
"The completion of the sale is a significant milestone in our company’s history. We enter this new phase of our growth and development with a new name – Sensata Technologies – and a renewed commitment to excellence, innovation and customer service," said Thomas Wroe, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Sensata Technologies. "Our day–to–day operations will remain the same, including our management team, staff and locations, and so will our dedication to providing customers with solutions that enable them to win in their marketplaces. We will invest in our growth as a standalone company for the benefit of our customers and employees." ...Sensata Technologies (press release)