Changzhou , China ( CNN ) -- This is a bustling , modern Chinese city . Shoppers decked out in the last fashions prowl shining new shopping malls . It 's about two hours drive from the glamorous metropolis of Shanghai , yet it 's fair to say very few people outside of China have heard of it . But now , Changzhou has landed right in the middle of a U.S political firestorm . It 's all about jobs : American jobs shipped to China . And it goes all the way to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney . In a thriving industrial area on the outskirts of Changzhou is a factory run by Sensata Technologies . It makes sensors for cars . Sensata is controlled by the private equity firm Bain Capital , and that is where Romney comes in . Romney is one of the founders of Bain Capital . And although he left the company years before it bought Sensata , he ca n't escape the political fallout . Outside the Sensata factory gates , we managed to catch a group of workers on their lunch hour . We talked with them quickly to avoid drawing the attention of company security guards . I asked one worker whether he knows who Mitt Romney is . `` No , '' he said . `` You do n't know who he is ? He 's running for president of the United States , '' I explained . `` Really ? I do n't know , '' he said . They may not be up to speed on U.S. politics here , but they know a lot about the economy , about how incomes are rising even if it is at the expense of American workers . `` It 's determined by the market : Jobs go wherever labor is cheaper . It makes sense , '' one worker said . `` Do you like America ? '' I asked another . `` So-so , '' he said . The American flag flew proudly at the gates of the Sensata plant , but the facility is also a symbol of Chinese economic power . Workers in Freeport , Illinois , say this is where their jobs are going , to factories just like this one in Changzhou . Angry American workers are camping in tents outside the Sensata plant in Freeport , protesting the planned closure of a place where they have worked for decades . The closure in December is set to wipe out 170 jobs . The workers say they suffer while the company profits from cheap Chinese labor . `` November 5 is scheduled to be my last day after 33 years , '' said one despondent employee . On Wednesday , the Rev . Jesse Jackson was one of 16 people arrested and charged with criminal trespass after they marched onto the Sensata property in Freeport . Jackson and the 15 other protesters were quickly released after being served with citations for trespassing . Workers at the Freeport facility have erected posters and placards putting the blame for the shutdown directly on Romney . The Republican candidate has pledged to play hard ball with China during his campaign . Time and again , he 's criticized the ruling Communist Party , saying it deliberately keeps China 's currency low to gain an advantage in exports . If elected , he says he will declare China a currency manipulator on day one of his presidency , raising the prospect of a trade war . But with an eye on events at Sensata , President Barack Obama has scoffed at Romney 's claims of getting tough on China . Back in Changzhou , workers say America 's loss is their gain . They say they enjoy good conditions and regular eight-hour shifts . But they wo n't reveal how much they are paid . `` That 's a secret , '' one of them said as others laughed loudly . Among the Chinese workers , we see two Americans . They tell us they are in China on rotation . They say they are fully aware of the controversy over jobs at the company and concede that it is a complicated issue . Right now , they 're just happy to be working themselves . `` I enjoy my job , '' one of them said .
Sensata , a subsidiary of Mitt Romney 's former company Mitt Romney 's , has a factory in China . The group is shifting jobs from China to the American plant . Workers there say this is simple economics at work . 15 of the employees says he does n't know who Jackson is .