SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Jesse Jackson joins unions, employees in protest of shipping US manufacturing jobs overseas. (Photo by Joe Tamborello / The Journal- Standard)
Rev. Jesse Jackson Arrested in Protest of Bain-Owned Sensata
"Essence of American struggle": Employees protest loss of 170 manufacturing jobs to China
Oct 25, 2012
Rev. Jesse Jackson was released after being arrested on Wednesday for protesting Bain-owned Sensata Technologies. Jackson was taken into custody after joining plant employees and union officials in a march onto Sensata's property in protest of the company's decision to move manufacturing operations to China, at the cost of 170 local jobs.
"This is the essence of the American struggle," said Jackson. The Freeport, Ill. based plant has, for decades, produced state-of-the-art sensors and controls for Ford and General Motors. John Nichols writing for The Nation notes that this is "precisely the sort of high-tech operation that a country looking to compete in the global economy of the 21st century would want to maintain as a domestic manufacturer".
According to the Huffington Post, the factory's closing has become an embarrassing campaign issue for the former Bain CEO and GOP presidential nominee, who continues to reap benefits from tax breaks based on his Sensata investments. "Activists and workers have called on Romney to use his influence with Bain to halt the offshoring," wrote Huffington Post.
Sansata protests have been mounting over the past few months. In recent weeks, nine protestors have been arrested for refusing to leave the plant's lobby after officials declined to meet and an encampment outside the facility--dubbed "Bainport"--has reached its 44th day of occupation. "This is more than Bain, this is corporate trade policy," Jackson said during rally at "Bainport" on Monday. "Sensata can leave, but we are staying."
After being released, Jackson announced that protests will continue next week with greater numbers.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Rev. Jesse Jackson was released after being arrested on Wednesday for protesting Bain-owned Sensata Technologies. Jackson was taken into custody after joining plant employees and union officials in a march onto Sensata's property in protest of the company's decision to move manufacturing operations to China, at the cost of 170 local jobs.
"This is the essence of the American struggle," said Jackson. The Freeport, Ill. based plant has, for decades, produced state-of-the-art sensors and controls for Ford and General Motors. John Nichols writing for The Nation notes that this is "precisely the sort of high-tech operation that a country looking to compete in the global economy of the 21st century would want to maintain as a domestic manufacturer".
According to the Huffington Post, the factory's closing has become an embarrassing campaign issue for the former Bain CEO and GOP presidential nominee, who continues to reap benefits from tax breaks based on his Sensata investments. "Activists and workers have called on Romney to use his influence with Bain to halt the offshoring," wrote Huffington Post.
Sansata protests have been mounting over the past few months. In recent weeks, nine protestors have been arrested for refusing to leave the plant's lobby after officials declined to meet and an encampment outside the facility--dubbed "Bainport"--has reached its 44th day of occupation. "This is more than Bain, this is corporate trade policy," Jackson said during rally at "Bainport" on Monday. "Sensata can leave, but we are staying."
After being released, Jackson announced that protests will continue next week with greater numbers.
Rev. Jesse Jackson was released after being arrested on Wednesday for protesting Bain-owned Sensata Technologies. Jackson was taken into custody after joining plant employees and union officials in a march onto Sensata's property in protest of the company's decision to move manufacturing operations to China, at the cost of 170 local jobs.
"This is the essence of the American struggle," said Jackson. The Freeport, Ill. based plant has, for decades, produced state-of-the-art sensors and controls for Ford and General Motors. John Nichols writing for The Nation notes that this is "precisely the sort of high-tech operation that a country looking to compete in the global economy of the 21st century would want to maintain as a domestic manufacturer".
According to the Huffington Post, the factory's closing has become an embarrassing campaign issue for the former Bain CEO and GOP presidential nominee, who continues to reap benefits from tax breaks based on his Sensata investments. "Activists and workers have called on Romney to use his influence with Bain to halt the offshoring," wrote Huffington Post.
Sansata protests have been mounting over the past few months. In recent weeks, nine protestors have been arrested for refusing to leave the plant's lobby after officials declined to meet and an encampment outside the facility--dubbed "Bainport"--has reached its 44th day of occupation. "This is more than Bain, this is corporate trade policy," Jackson said during rally at "Bainport" on Monday. "Sensata can leave, but we are staying."
After being released, Jackson announced that protests will continue next week with greater numbers.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.