Former Marion employee speaks at DNC, shares experience with NewsChannel 15

MARION, Ind. (WANE) A Wednesday night speaker at the Democratic National Convention has ties to the area.

Randy Johnson was one of three people who spoke about their experiences with Bain Capital, the private equity firm Mitt Romney founded.

In the mid-1990's, Johnson was part of the more than 350 coworkers laid off from the "American Pad and Paper" facility in Marion.

According to May 2012 article in BusinessWeek , Bain acquired a manufacturing company called "American Pad and Paper" (Ampad) in 1992. Two years later, Ampad purchased the office supplies plant in Marion.

According BusinessWeek, the workers were immediately let go but allowed to reapply for jobs with reduced pay and reduced benefits. Marion workers attempted to negotiate with Ampad then called a strike. In 1995, Ampad closed the plant and laid off all the remaining workers.

In front of the crowd at the Democratic National Convention, Johnson painted Romney as a man who sought profits at any cost.

"I don't think Mitt Romney is a bad man. I don't fault him for the fact that  some companies win and some companies lose. That's a fact of life," said Johnson. "What I fault him for is making money without a moral compass. I fault him for putting profits before people like me."

He spoke with NewsChannel 15 reporter Megan Reust on Thursday about his experience speaking at the DNC.  Johnson said he was upset to hear what Bain did to Ampad and wanted to fight back.

"When I found out that Ampad as a company by year 2000 was bankrupt they had 400 million dollars in debt and Bain Capital had taken 100 million out of the company in eight years I said there's something wrong here," Johnson said.

Republican Mayor of Marion Wayne Seybold said Johnson's speech was just a political ploy.

"This is just nothing but a political ploy. I think it's a way for him to gain some national spotlight," Mayor Seybold said.

Seybold also said unfortunately businesses close.  It's just part of natural business progression.  "Today companies aren't probably going to come to your community and be there for 50 or 100 years. I'm not saying they won't but there are some exceptions to the rule. For the most part, companies are going to move to where they have the best business environment."