Massachusetts Congressional Delegation Ignores Job Loss [OPINION]

The silence is deafening from the federal elected officials on the closing of Lockheed Martin in Marion – 400 jobs gone without even a whimper.

Today, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey and the rest of the Congressional delegation from Massachusetts, all Democrats, continued to ignore the closing of the largest employer in a SouthCoast town. The average job at Lockheed Martin pays around $100,000 a year. That puts the estimated lost payroll at $40,000,000.

The only elected official to issue a statement has been New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.

“The planned closure of Lockheed Martin’s Marion facility is disappointing for everyone in Greater New Bedford, especially the employees and families affected by the decision," he said. "MassHire Greater New Bedford will deploy its resources to support displaced employees, and despite this setback, we will continue to build on the progress we’ve made in cultivating the blue economy in our region."

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Instead, Markey and Warren announced a federal bill attacking police officers. The senators are silent on the loss of 400 jobs but they want to strip the men and women who work as police officers of qualified immunity. How can working people and unions support this type of representation?

The people who worked at this facility live in New Bedford, Fall River, Mattapoisett, Marion, Fairhaven, Wareham, Dartmouth, Westport, Wareham, Plymouth, and on Cape Cod. The massive input of federal defense dollars was also spent with other local businesses on a regular basis. How much copy paper and ink do 400 employees use annually? Those employees used their salaries to buy homes, cars, insurance, groceries, and entertainment with local businesses.

Senator Warren is on the Senate Armed Services Committee and Representative William Keating is on the House Armed Services Committee. The 400 local employees of Lockheed Martin Sippican in Marion had every reason to believe they were looking out for them and the Massachusetts economy from those positions on the powerful committee that oversees America’s defense industry.

Keating has always been a supporter of a strong defense. Senator Warren has used her position to attack the defense industry, including attacking Lockheed Martin by name repeatedly.

Attacking the working men and women who put their lives on the line as police officers is more important than even acknowledging the loss of 400 high-paying jobs in Massachusetts in the current Congress. Sad.

Elections have consequences and this is the choice the voters made in 2020.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.