Scott Brown’s lackluster campaign is always in need of a lift. Maybe they’re hoping for a car elevator kind of lift. That’s right, Might Romney’s coming back to town!
Brown has truly bear-hugged Mitt Romney in this campaign, and it makes sense if you think about it. Sure, Romney lost New Hampshire decisively in 2012, but him and Scott Brown have striking similarities: Two proud Bay Staters who have yielded huge profits from their roles at outsourcing companies.
Scott Brown says he won’t create one job in New Hampshire. But if you want to create jobs overseas, you can’t beat the Brown/Romney tag team!
Background:
Scott Brown
Outsourcing
Brown Voted To Make It Easier To Outsource or Privatize State Services. In 2009, Brown voted for an amendment to the FY 2010 budget that would repeal the Pacheco law, under which an agency must demonstrate a cost saving before any state service can be out-sourced or privatized. The amendment failed 11-28. [S0003, Vote 63, 5/21/09]
Brown Voted Against Making It Harder To Get Aid And Training If Jobs Are Shipped Overseas. On September 21, 2011, Brown voted against an amendment that would make it harder to get Trade Adjustment Assistance by narrowing eligibility criteria. According to the Associated Press, TAA is “a Kennedy-era program that helps those adversely affected by trade with financial support while they learn new job skills.” [Roll Call 144, H 2832, 09/21/2011; Associated Press, 9/22/11]
Brown Voted To Cut Aid To Workers Laid-Off Due To Outsourced Jobs. On September 21, 2011, Brown voted for an amendment that would reduce the level of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program to rates prior to the 2009 stimulus law. According to the Associated Press, the TAA is “a Kennedy-era program that helps those adversely affected by trade with financial support while they learn new job skills.” [Roll Call 143, H 2832, 09/21/2011; Associated Press, 9/22/11]
Kadant, Inc.
Earned Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars For Being A Board Member Of A Company That Sent Jobs Overseas
Brown Earned $270,000 For Sitting On The Board Of A Massachusetts Company With A “Penchant For Exporting Jobs To Cheap Foreign Labor Alternatives Such As China While Shielding Millions Of Dollars In Profits From U.S. Taxes.” According to Nashua Telegraph, “A cornerstone of Republican Scott Brown’s campaign to return to the U.S. Senate has been a desire to create more high-paying jobs for workers in New Hampshire and America. ‘Washington needs to work together to create a strong business environment that gives all Americans the opportunity to work in good-paying jobs,’ Brown says about job creation on his campaign’s website. But since February 2013, he has earned $270,000 sitting on the board of directors of a Massachusetts company with a penchant for exporting jobs to cheap foreign labor alternatives such as China while shielding millions of dollars in profits from U.S. taxes.” [Nashua Telegraph, 8/24/14]
Nashua Telegraph: 500 Of Kadant, Inc.’s 18,000 Jobs Were In The United States. According to the Nashua Telegraph, “The most recent employment figures for Kadant show that it has 1,800 employees, about 500 of them in the U.S. In 2013, the firm reported 63 percent of its sales were overseas. Last year, Kadant purchased a Vancouver, British Columbia, company that was already outsourcing 70 percent of its manufacturing.” [Nashua Telegraph, 8/26/14]
- Kadant Had Four Manufacturing Facilities In The United States And Ten Abroad. According to the Nashua Telegraph, “Four of Kadant’s 14 manufacturing facilities are in the United States. The rest are scattered around the world in countries such as China, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, the Netherlands and France.” [Nashua Telegraph, 8/26/14]
- 2005-2006: Kadant Closed Facilities In Louisiana And Massachusetts. According to the Nashua Telegraph, “In 2005, Kadant closed a manufacturing facility in Louisiana, combining it with a facility in Alabama ‘for outsourcing,’ company officials said at that time on a conference call with investors. ‘A reduction in manufacturing in North America is necessary as we shift toward lower-cost regions such as China,’ said Bill Rainville, Kadant’s CEO at the time. Kadant also expanded its manufacturing in Mexico in 2006 at the expense of jobs in Massachusetts. U.S. Department of Labor records confirm that over the last decade, Kadant made three applications for laid-off workers to receive federal trade assistance because their jobs went overseas. Company officials have defended the labor decisions, saying that moving the jobs away actually helped boost domestic jobs. As a result of becoming more competitive and winning more orders, the company’s employment in Massachusetts is at a 10-year high, a Kadant official told The SundayTelegraph.” [Nashua Telegraph, 8/26/14]
Refused To Comment On His Role At Kadant, Inc.
Brown’s Campaign Declined For Comment About His Role At The Company And His Views About Outsourcing Jobs. According to the Nashua Telegraph, “Brown’s campaign declined to respond to the criticism Monday. Staffers also previously declined to answer questions about Brown’s role at Kadant and his views about its offshore operations. Instead, Brown’s campaign pointed to Shaheen’s record while serving as governor of New Hampshire. In the late 1990s, Shaheen and the Executive Council approved a contract for New Hampshire and six other Northeastern states to hire Citibank to administer their food stamp programs.” [Nashua Telegraph, 8/26/14]
Mitt Romney
Outsourcing Pioneer
Romney’s Financial Company, Bain Capital, Invested In Many Companies That Specialized In Shipping Jobs Overseas. According to the Washington Post, “Mitt Romney’s financial company, Bain Capital, invested in a series of firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India. During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.” [Washington Post, 6/1/12]
- The Companies Relocated Jobs To “Low-Wage” Countries Including China And India. According to the Washington Post, “Mitt Romney’s financial company, Bain Capital, invested in a series of firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India. During the nearly 15 years that Romneywas actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
Published: Oct 15, 2014