FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 30, 2008
Contact: Jenny Dombrowski (202) 674-3774
Coalition Demands Commitment to Quality Child Care at Bright Horizons
The Message to Bain Capital: Put Kids First
Los Angeles (CA) – Against a bright blue backdrop stating, “Bain Capital: Put Kids First ... Not Profits,” local coalitions of concerned parents, labor union members, community leaders and child care advocates will rally this Thursday, July 31, at 12 p.m. (noon) in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The agenda includes an original song, street theater, comments by parents, religious leaders, elected officials and child care advocates and the issuance of three demands to the buyout giant Bain Capital. For every demand there is one key principle: improve the quality of child care.
“Our children’s education depends on maintaining good programs and treating staff well,” said Bright Horizons’ parent Deborah Brown of Los Angeles. “Parents will not tolerate cuts in quality to pad the pockets of CEOs.”
In a $1.3 billion deal, Bright Horizons became one of Bain Capital’s “managed assets.” While the firm and Bright Horizon stockholders each took away an attractive sum, the child care chain had $850 million of new debt added to its books.
Bain Capital’s $78 billion portfolio does not reflect any specialized knowledge of the child care field. The industries of Bain’s portfolio include: IT, Communications, Healthcare, Industrial Manufacturing, Retail and Consumer Products, and Financial Services.
“As Bain is not known for its expertise in early childhood education and development, I strongly urge its decision-makers to gain ongoing input from experts, parents, and providers and to adopt the principles proposed by the Campaign for Quality Child Care at Bright Horizons,” said Betty Bardige of Boston, an advocate, teacher and published author in the field of early childhood development.
Worse still is the fact that the firm’s track record includes a list of companies that filed for bankruptcy during or soon after their years in the Bain portfolio: Companies like KB Toys, Dade Behring, Ampad and DDi Corp. took steps including laying off thousands of workers and closing sites.
With an acute shortage of quality child care in our country, Bain Capital’s buyout comes at a critical time.
Confirmed speakers: Rasiene Reece-Carter, family child care provider; Samuel Chu, Presbyterian minister; Sonya, ACORN parent; Paul Krekorian, Assembly member; Carol Liu, former Assembly member and candidate for State Senate; Candy Saenz, South Bay Latino Chamber of Commerce president.
Location of Los Angeles rally: the Bright Horizons center at 2114 Pontius Ave. at the intersection of S. Sepulveda Blvd. and W. Olympic Blvd.
Endorsers of the event, both local and national, include the following:
Moms Rising • National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association • National Consumer's League • SEIU • Working Families Party • SCLC of Greater Los Angeles • Community Coalition • Hermandad Mexicana •
ACORN – Los Angeles • The Salvadoran Association (ASOSAL) • Eviction Defense Network • Plaza Community Services • Californians for Justice • Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing (SCANPH) • Korean Resource Center • National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) • National Lawyer’s Guild of LA • AFL-CIO (Western Region) • CLUE LA
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The Campaign for Quality Child Care at Bright Horizons is a coalition of parents, child care providers and advocates, and community and labor leaders, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). For more information, go to
http://tellbaintoputkidsfirst.org.