Sep 20, 2012

Congressman Schilling’s Campaign Threatens to Call Authorities on Local Workers

Congressman Bobby Schilling walked out in the middle of a heated town hall meeting with workers who are losing their jobs to China after Bain Capitol took over the Sensata factory in the district. After local workers posted video footage online, Congressman Schilling actually defended turning his back on the workers by suggesting they weren’t serious about keeping their jobs. Sure enough, Congressman Schilling voted to give tax breaks to corporations that ship American jobs overseas like Bain Capitol and supports unfair trade deals that make it harder for Illinois workers to compete.

MUST Watch footage of Congressman Bobby Schilling walking out of a heated town hall.

“Congressman Bobby Schilling actually walked out of a public event rather than face tough questions from local workers losing their jobs to China thanks to Bain Capital and the kinds of failed, unfair trade policies Congressman Schilling voted for in Washington,” said Haley Morris of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Instead of defending his record of giving tax breaks to corporations that outsource jobs, Congressman Schilling turned his back on local workers. Congressman Bobby Schilling has the nerve to claim workers who are losing their jobs overseas aren’t serious about their employment but Schilling’s only concern is protecting his own job and the thousands of campaign contributions he got as a reward for protecting corporations that ship their jobs overseas.”

Workers from the Sensata factory and the City of Freeport have pleaded with Mitt Romney to stop the outsourcing of 170 jobs to China. Congressman Bobby Schilling has been exposed previously using police officers to block attendance at his public events.

Background

Congressman Schilling Walked Out on Sensata Workers.  In September 2012, Schilling walked out of a town hall with Sensata workers confronted Schilling regarding the impending outsourcing of their jobs to China.  “When Tom Gaulrapp, one of the workers set to lose his job after working at the Bain Capital-owned company for 33 years, asked Schilling if he would support a bill that would offer companies tax incentives for bringing overseas jobs back to the U.S. and also close loopholes that allow corporations to ship American jobs overseas, like the Bring American Jobs Home Act, Schilling refused to answer and walked out of the meeting.” Schilling’s campaign manager and son, Terry answered the question for the Congressman saying "He said no. He does not support the bill." [ProgressIllinois, 9/19/12]

Congressman Schilling Used a Police Officer to Bar Attendance at a Public Event. In August 2012, Schilling prevented an employee of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from entering a public veterans forum sponsored by his congressional office. [Quad-Cities Time, 8/31/12]

Under Bain, the Share of U.S. Workers at Sensata has Dropped to 9 Percent. “Under Bain’s ownership, the U.S. share of jobs at Sensata dropped to 17 percent in 2007, 12 percent in 2008, 10 percent in 2009, and 9 percent in 2010 and 2011.  Planned layoffs could bring that percentage down to 7 percent.” These layoffs threaten the livelihood of 170 workers in Freeport, IL with one worker worried about how she is going to pay make her house payments and pay her bills.  She hopes Romney will “do the right thing, and show how he really does care about working families.” [Salon, 7/17/12]

Sensata Workers Took to YouTube to Plead with Romney to Save their Jobs.  In July 2012, workers who are slated to lose their jobs when Sensata outsources them to China, have taken to YouTube to post their stories.  Several employees posted videos calling on Mitt Romney to help them save their jobs.  In one video, a woman and single mother to two girls says she is worried that she is not going to be able to feed and clothe her children. She says, “If I had anything to say to Mitt Romney, I would ask him to please save my job” [MSNBC, 7/17/12]

Congressman Schilling Voted to Give Tax Breaks to Companies Shipping Jobs Overseas While Cutting Medicare. On March 29, 2012, Congressman Schillingvoted in favor of the House Republican budget which included cuts to Medicare. Under this proposal, companies essentially would pay just the tax rate of the country where the profits are earned. According to the Tax Policy Center, exempting these offshore earning from U.S. tax liability “might encourage some domestic companies to move more of their operations—and shift both jobs and more reported income– to low tax countries.” Similarly, Citizens for Tax Justice concluded that adopting this type of system would increase the incentives for job offshoring. [H Con Res 112, Vote #151, 3/29/12; The Hill, 3/29/12; National Journal,3/20/12; Wall Street Journal, 3/19/12; Tax Policy Center, 2/28/12; Citizens for Tax Justice, 10/19/11]

Congressman Schilling Voted to Implement the Colombia Trade Agreement. In 2011, Schilling voted to implement the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. The agreement “reduce[d] most tariffs and duties on goods traded between the two countries, reduce[d] barriers to trade in services, increase[d] protections for intellectual property and require[d] Colombia to take steps to strengthen its labor and environmental enforcement standards”. Critics of the trade agreement said it failed to crack down on violence against union activists. [CQ Floor Votes, 10/12/11; USA Today, 10/13/11; HR 3078, Vote #781, 10/12/11]

Congressman Schilling Voted to Implement the Panama Trade Agreement. In 2011, Schilling voted to implement the Panama Trade Agreement.The bill implemented the Panama Trade Agreement which “reduce[d] most tariffs and duties on goods traded between the two countries, reduce[d] barriers to trade in services, increase[d] protections for intellectual property and require[d] Panama to take steps to strengthen its labor and environmental enforcement standards.” Critics of the trade agreement said it would take away legal tools used to fight tax evasion and money laundering. [CQ Floor Votes, 10/12/11, USA Today, 10/13/11, HR 3079, Vote #782, 10/12/11]

Congressman Schilling Voted to implement the South Korea Trade Agreement. In 2011, Schilling voted to implement the South Korea Trade Agreement. The bill implemented the South Korea Trade Agreement which “reduce[d] most tariffs and duties on goods traded between the two countries, reduce[d] barriers to trade in services, increase[d] protections for intellectual property and reduce[d] tariffs on U.S. autos exported to South Korea.” Critics of the trade agreement said there were no guarantees the deal with South Korea would boost U.S. auto exports. [CQ Floor Votes, 10/12/11, USA Today, 10/13/11, HR 3080, Vote #783, 10/12/11]

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