'I regret voting for him': Ohioans hit by GM plant closure reflect on Trump
Trumps message of bringing back jobs resonated with workers but after GM announced it was shuttering the plant, some questioned why they voted for him
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/29/lordstown-ohio-trump-gm-plant-election
Before Covid-19 hit, Trisha Amato spent her weekdays behind a modest, ebony-colored desk, running the transition center that helps laid-off General Motors workers pick up the shards of their lives. GM announced it was closing its mammoth plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in November 2018 and ever since Amato has been ladling out advice to the 1,700 laid-off workers on such matters as how to obtain jobless benefits and how to qualify for government assistance to pay for college courses.
The GM plant, the size of more than 100 football fields, had long been the heart of Lordstown as recently as 2016, it employed 4,500 workers, and in its 53-year history, it produced 16m vehicles. Built alongside I-80, the hulking plant has long been a monument to Americas industrial might, or perhaps one should say its fading industrial might.
Deep-voiced, with long, auburn hair and broad shoulders she, too, had worked at the plant Amato has problems of her own, saying that she can no longer afford health insurance for herself and her two daughters on her transition center salary. Amato, who is divorced, felt betrayed when GM said it would shut the plant the company had received $60m in state subsidies, and had promised in return to keep the plant open through 2027.
Aristus
(66,365 posts)blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)knowing Republicans want right to work, getting rid of unions. Did they actually think G.M. would do anything for them without the union? They don't get the good benefits because the company is so concerned about them. I am a retired G.M. worker who has never voted for a republican in my life. I know which side my bread is buttered on.
czarjak
(11,274 posts)world wide wally
(21,743 posts)Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER!
Trust a Republican
modrepub
(3,495 posts)Never trust a politician (of any stripe) who guarantees you a private sector job. We'd all be better served if government and business invested in education/job training rather than tax cuts and tax incentives. It amazes me that people still think they can get a $25/hour job screwing in a part on an assembly line. You have to keep your job skills current and be willing to learn new skills. Automation, in just about any field, is the true threat to your job prospects. We're constantly trying to stay ahead of the robots.