Freeport, Il (October 24, 2012)—Rev. Jesse Jackson and 12 Sensata Technologies employees were arrested today in a protest at the Sensata plant in Freeport, IL. The group was apprehended on plant property in an attempt to meet with management to make the case for keeping the plant open and saving the workers’ jobs. They were released after processing by local law enforcement.

Having already shuttered two of its three manufacturing sites in the USA, the company is in the process of outsourcing 170 well-paying jobs to China from the remaining plant in Freeport despite record profits. Sensata began the terminations last Friday and they will continue through the end of the year. The job loss at the plant will result in the loss of $7.7 million in wages that feed the local economy according to Stephenson County Chairman John Blum.

Sensata Technologies, 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. While at Bain, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney pioneered the business model that today is costing Sensata workers their jobs. And he is still financially tied to Sensata.

Thanks to his retirement agreement with Bain, Romney owns close to $8 million in Bain funds that together hold 51 percent of the company’s shares--a controlling financial stake. As a result, Romney not only profits directly from Sensata but also stands to profit from the outsourcing of the Sensata workers’ jobs. Adding insult to injury, Romney secured a major tax deduction by transferring $170,000 worth of Sensata stock to one of the charities he runs.

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The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization protecting, defending and expanding civil rights to improve economic and educational opportunity. The organization is headquartered at 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago. For more information about the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, please visit Rainbow Push or call (773) 373-3366.