PRIORITIES USA ACTION CAMPAIGN EXPOSES ROMNEY’S REAL RECORD AS CEO
PRIORITIES USA ACTION CAMPAIGN EXPOSES ROMNEY’S REAL RECORD AS CEO
“He promised us the same things he’s promising the United States. And he’ll give you the same thing he gave us. Nothing. He’ll take it all.”
LINK: http://youtu.be/fncJZXrzG8k
WASHINGTON, D.C—Priorities USA Action today began a new television and social media campaign to illustrate Mitt Romney’s private sector record. Throughout Romney’s career, he and his partners made millions, even when companies they took control of were driven into bankruptcy, employees lost their jobs, and promises for health and retirement benefits were broken.
The ad is the first in a series of a multi-million dollar campaign running on television and online in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Priorities USA Action also launched www.RealRomneyRecord.com, a website outlining Romney’s record as CEO.
The campaign’s first ad features Pat Wells, a former employee at GST Steel in Missouri, who lost his job and promised benefits, while Mitt Romney and his firm walked away with nearly $9 million in profit.
“Mitt Romney’s tenure as CEO underscores his deeply-held belief that success only for the wealthy is good for America, even if it comes at the expense of the middle class,” said Paul Begala, Senior Adviser for Priorities USA Action. “As President, Romney has been clear he would pursue policies that benefit the wealthiest Americans like himself while cutting promised Medicare benefits and slashing educational and job opportunities for the middle class.”
Watch the ad at www.RealRomneyRecord.com or www.prioritiesusaaction.org.
SCRIPT: “Heads or Tails”
Pat Wells, Steelworker, GS Steel:
With Romney and Bain Capital, the objective was to make money.
Whether the companies they came in and worked with made money or not, was irrelevant. Bain Capital always made money.
If we lost, they made money. If we survived, they made money. It’s as simple as that.
He promised us the same things he’s promising the United States. And he’ll give you the same thing he gave us. Nothing. He’ll take it all.
Priorities USA Action is responsible for the content of this advertising.
BACKGROUND
Despite Company Being Driven to Bankruptcy, Bain Received A $12 Million Return On Its $8 Million Investment In GST Steel, Along With Over $4.5 Million In Consulting Fees. According to Reuters, “Less than a decade later, the mill was padlocked and some 750 people lost their jobs. Workers were denied the severance pay and health insurance they'd been promised, and their pension benefits were cut by as much as $400 a month. What's more, a federal government insurance agency had to pony up $44 million to bail out the company's underfunded pension plan. Nevertheless, Bain profited on the deal, receiving $12 million on its $8 million initial investment and at least $4.5 million in consulting fees.” Even though Bain only took over the company in 1993, “Bain got its money back quickly. The new company issued $125 million in bonds and paid Bain a $36.1 million dividend in 1994.” [Reuters, 1/6/12]
Workers Lost Promised Health Insurance, Severance Pay, And Life Insurance. According to Reuters, “GS Industries declared bankruptcy on February 7, 2001, and said it would shut down the Kansas City plant, eliminating 750 jobs. In a press release, the company said the bankruptcy was triggered in part by ‘the critical need to restructure the company’s liabilities.’ Workers soon found out what that meant. In April, GS said it was shedding the guarantees it had promised its workers in the event of a plant closure - the severance pay, health insurance, life insurance and pension supplements that had been negotiated during the 1997 strike. Workers could buy health insurance through the company’s plan, but the company would no longer share its costs. For many who were struggling with asbestosis or other ailments contracted during their years of work, the cost was prohibitive.” [Reuters, 1/6/12]
Workers Called New Management Inexperienced, Undermined Capabilities to Compete ‘With Anyone in the World.’ According to Boston Globe, “Out-of-work steelworkers in Kansas City, for example, blame Romney and Bain Capital for decisions that led to last year’s bankruptcy of a steel mill that opened its doors in 1888. Bain bought the operation, GST Steel Co., in 1993. Workers said the new owners cleaned house and brought in an inexperienced management team. Dan Misel, who worked at GST Steel for 35 years, said Baincame in ‘like the bully on the block,’ assuming its managers knew how to run the operation better than anyone already in place. ‘They brought in people to manufacture steel who had no idea of how to do it,’ Misel said. ‘It was kind of sad to me. We had the facilities and capabilities of producing with anyone in the world.’” According to Bloomberg, “GS Industries Inc., a steel company in Charlotte, North Carolina, filed for bankruptcy in2001 after workers said a chief executive hired under Bain made missteps, including installing managers who lacked industry expertise, former employees said.” [Boston Globe, 10/24/02 and Bloomberg News, 7/20/11]
By 1995, Two Years After Bain Took Over, GS Industries ‘was not on a sustainable course;’ company’s debt had grown to over ten times its operating income. According to Reuters, “Already, though, there were warning signs that the company was not on a sustainable course. Concerned about the level of debt, which totaled $378 million in 1995 on operating income less than a tenth of that amount, the merged company's new CEO, Roger Regelbrugge, negotiated a clause in his contract that would allow him to retire at the end of 1997.” [Reuters, 1/6/12]
GS Industries saw its operating income drop and losses grow from 1997 to 1999, making the firm’s massive debt even more of a problem. According to Reuters, “Nevertheless, net losses at the company grew to $52.9 million in 1999 from $16.1 million in 1997, while operating income dropped to $9.6 million from $37.9 million over the same period -- not enough to sustain the firm's debt and obligations for long.” [Reuters, 1/6/12]