U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III has a chance to break out nationally and build up his bipartisan chops if he succeeds in leading a bid to block Philips Lighting from sending 160 Massachusetts jobs to Mexico.
Kennedy already has a strong national following — even getting mentioned as a potential presidential contender. But he could use a victory to protect American jobs, and maybe even get a nod of appreciation from President Trump, to further cement his image as a leader of a new political generation.
Kennedy, along with the rest of the Massachusetts delegation, sent a letter to Chris White, President of the Americas for Philips Lighting, urging him to reconsider the lighting company’s decision to relocate a manufacturing plant from Fall River to Mexico.
It’s the kind of constituent service that Kennedy’s great uncle, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, specialized in and usually succeeded in getting done.
“The tax cut signed into law by President Trump last year was intended to incentivize further investment by companies into their products and workforces but Philips Lighting has chosen instead to use that largesse to reward stockholders and further outsource American jobs,” Kennedy wrote in the letter, obtained by the Herald.
It’s no surprise that Kennedy is trying to come to the rescue. The Philips plant is in his district, and the jobs belong to his constituents, who are being rudely treated by a company that has gotten tax breaks and public funding in the past.
But this is no gambit aimed at getting good press and a few votes for re-election.
Kennedy has shown that he’s got good political instincts and realizes that the Trump tax cut has given him a good opening to prod the company to do the right thing.
Fall River is the place Kennedy chose to deliver his response to Trump’s State of the Union address. The working class city could use a break, and Kennedy has about as powerful a voice as any other Democrat in Washington.
It’s actually surprising that Trump hasn’t yet jumped on the issue to push Philips to keep its plant in the U.S. One simple tweet could end up giving those workers their jobs back.
But the Kennedy name isn’t bad either, and if it helps convince Philips to rethink its move, then it’s a victory not only for the workers but for Kennedy’s potential national prospects.