Auto workers who regret voting for Trump.

Editor? /? Text? wisecrack

Design? /? Zhao Haoran

Source? /? That? The Guardian, by Steven? greenhouse

"I regret voting for him." This is the reaction of Ohio people affected by the closure of GM's Lodztown factory to Trump.

During the 20 16 campaign, Trump promised to bring GM's overseas jobs back to the United States. It has gained considerable support in the Lodztown factory. Although trumbull City near the factory is the stronghold of the Democratic Party, the UAW to which the workers belong comes from Franklin roosevelt (Franklin? Roosevelt) era, has been seriously inclined to the Democratic Party. Union officials estimate that 30% to 40% of workers in Lodztown voted for Trump.

However, on 20 18 10, 165438, GM announced the closure of its large factory in Lodztown, Ohio, which was larger than 100 football fields. By 20 16, it employed 4,500 workers, and in its 53-year history, it produced 160,000 cars. This huge factory has long been the center of Lodztown, the main source of income for many local families, and a monument to American industrial strength.

Trump repeatedly promised to get the factory back to work, which helped him win the support of many blue-collar voters not only in Ohio, but also in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The official support rate became the key to his narrow victory in these States.

Blue-collar workers in these States may once again play a decisive role in this year's election. The Guardian interviewed several workers at GM's former Lodztown factory. Many people still support Trump, but some people regret voting for him.

Teresa Amato:

Trump doesn't know what it's like to struggle at the bottom

Support for Trump and Mike Pence (Mike? Penny) slogan.

Teresa Amato (Teresa? Amato) used to work in the Lodztown factory. She voted for Trump in the 20 16 general election. When General Motors said it would close the factory, Amato, a divorced single mother, felt betrayed. The company received a state subsidy of $60 million and promised to open the factory until 2027 in return.

After the closure of the GM plant, Amato began to set up a "Transition center" (transition? Center) and give them advice, such as how to get unemployment benefits and how to get government assistance to pay for college courses. But Amato also has his own problems to solve, and the meager salary of the transition center can't support the medical insurance expenses for himself and his two daughters.

Many GM workers are also strongly dissatisfied with Donald Trump. During the 20 16 campaign, he repeatedly declared that he wanted to make American manufacturing great again and take back the jobs that flowed overseas. The news in Lodztown and nearby Youngstown (Youngstown) produced a * * * sound, they all belong to the Mahoning Valley (Mahoning? Valley) region has been dragged down by factory closures for decades.

2065438+In July 2007, Trump gave a speech in Youngstown, telling everyone that he lamented the loss of manufacturing jobs in Ohio, but then boldly assured the crowd, "They will all come back!" And appealed to many workers who were worried about the closure of their factories, "Steady, don't sell the house."

Today, laid-off workers at General Motors Company in Lodztown are still worried about that speech. Many of them have to accept the general transfer arrangement and move to other cities to work. "The hardest time for me in recent years is watching everyone leave." Amato said, "They had to sell their house."

Hundreds of workers who have worked in Lowtown for a long time have moved to GM's factories in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas because they are unwilling to give up UAW's high salary (about $30 per hour) and hope to continue to accumulate extra years for their pensions.

General Motors once offered to move Amato the factory in Wentzville, Missouri, but she refused because her 19-year-old daughter was in high school and her 79-year-old father was ill and needed to be taken care of.

"Because many steel mills are closed, there is no economic benefit here." Amato added, "They had hoped that Trump would bring something here." She said that workers were generally disappointed with pure politicians, but they were deceived by Trump, a successful businessman who promised to revive the factory and get it back to work.

Her initial vote for Trump was the lesser of two evils. She said, Hillary? Clinton is an excellent first lady, but in her opinion, by 20 16, she has become another professional politician.

Amato admitted that she was wrong about Trump. "After he was elected, he began to tweet and say some crazy things." She also said, "Trump, he is a clown."

She once thought it was a good thing to have a businessman as president. "But he doesn't understand blue-collar workers. I don't think any great politician understands this. Trump, in particular, does not understand what it is like to struggle. "

Amato said that she will not vote for Trump this year, but she is not sure whether she will support Biden. For Biden, her main concern is his age. "These people in their 70s are completely out of touch with us."

David green:

It was Trump who accelerated GM's decision to close the factory.

Retired lawyers and labor activists expressed their support for UAW's strike outside the general motors factory in Lostown on September 23rd, 20th19th.

What made Amato completely disappointed with Trump was the tweet on March 17, 2065438, which was the ninth day after the last car was produced at the Lodztown factory. He attacked david green, the local chairman of UAW in Lodztown, on Twitter. Green).

Trump tweeted, "Democrat david green? Green) should cheer up and produce ... I hope Lodztown will take action as soon as possible. Stop complaining and do your job. "

Amato is next to Green's office. Amato heard Green discuss again and again with Ohio senators, representatives, mayors and town Council members how to put pressure on General Motors not to close the factory.

In Amato's view, it is unreasonable for Trump to blame the factory closure on local trade union officials rather than GM. "Doesn't he understand the fact that David Green can't control?" Amato said.

Green helped Lowtown's parents, teachers and community leaders to give GM CEO Mary Bora? Barra) wrote a letter. In his office, letters are piled up 3 feet (9 1 cm) high.

After the factory closed, david green, who was in his fifties, reluctantly moved to Bedford, Indiana, to work in the General Motors Power Plant. He has worked in General Motors for 25 years, and he will get a full pension for 30 years in five years. Divorced Green drives back to northeast Ohio for six and a half hours every month to visit his parents and his 23-year-old daughter.

Green also felt that GM's decision to close the factory betrayed him. He said the workers in Lodztown did a good job. He also said that Trump did not bring any benefits to the workers in Lodztown. Shortly after Trump took office, he relaxed the fuel efficiency standards of cars, and Green realized that this might lead to the demise of this compact and low-fuel Chevrolet Cruze factory.

Not long after he took office, he announced the cancellation of Café (enterprise average fuel economy) standard. Green said, "Because of this standard, GM has to make so many cars to balance SUVs. Once the cafe was cancelled, Trump did great harm to the workers in Lodztown. Although Trump did not ask to close the factory, Trump accelerated GM's decision. " He also pointed out that GM itself prefers to make SUVs and trucks rather than small cars with lower profits.

Green said that after GM announced the closure, he wrote two letters to Trump. "I haven't even received a simple reply." He said, "Then, this guy attacked me on Twitter. This hurts my child. My youngest daughter said that the school classmates said that her father caused the factory to close down. "

Speaking of the general election four years ago, Green said that although she was not a Trump fan at that time, Hillary was a hard person to get support, perhaps because she was another Clinton, perhaps because she was a woman.

He sneered at the cliches of Hillary's campaign. "They sent some college students to the Top Ten Credit Valley to tell the workers here how to win the support of the blue-collar class for Clinton."

"And Donald Trump," Green continued, "said a lot of things that people wanted to hear, such as bringing jobs back to America and making America great again. But people don't realize that he is a liar. "

In the first three years of Trump's term, the number of new jobs in the United States was 6.5438+0.5 million less than that in Obama's three years (8.65438+0.6 million versus 6.6 million). This was before the epidemic. If you count the jobs lost after the epidemic, the United States actually has 3.9 million fewer jobs than when Trump took office.

In addition, in Trump's first three years, the number of jobs added in Ohio was only 36% of that in Obama's first three years. Since Trump took office, Ohio has actually lost 329,000 jobs, including 26,000 manufacturing jobs.

In addition, like many Ohio people eager to keep their manufacturing jobs, Green was surprised by Trump's call to boycott Goodyear. Trump even boasted, "It doesn't matter if GM stops production in Lodztown, because Ohio fills these jobs in minutes." None of his ambitious promises that excite many blue-collar workers have been fulfilled, such as investing 1 trillion dollars to build infrastructure and repair roads, bridges and airports, which will create hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs.

What Green doesn't understand is that even so, there are still so many blue-collar workers who think Trump is doing well economically and are willing to vote for him. He said, "Maybe they have amnesia, or maybe they just watch Fox News? News). "

Mitch Harris:

Trump knows better than professional politicians what Americans want.

10On June 5438+05, a worker renovated a bus named "Trump Train" in Lodztown.

Mickey Harris (Mickey? Harris doesn't have amnesia and doesn't watch much Fox News Channel, but she is still a loyal supporter of Trump. Harris has been working in the Lodstown factory from 2008 to 20 19. She voted for Trump on 20 16, and said that she would vote again this year.

"He is a person who is more on our side." She said, "Trump seems to understand what we Americans want, not just at the level of this politician." She lives in West Farmington village, 0/5 mile (24 kilometers) north of Lodztown. Farmington), Trump's logo is everywhere. At the same time, she also praised Trump for being outspoken. "He said some things that politicians should not say."

Harris turned down GM's job transfer proposal because she wanted to be close to her elderly parents, grandparents and in-laws. She is studying for an associate degree in health information management technology, and the tuition fee is paid by the federal trade adjustment assistance. In her view, one of Trump's best policies is that he promotes keeping jobs in the United States.

Harris was born in a party family. Regarding Biden, Harris said, "He is a professional politician. I just don't think he will really listen to the opinions of the American people. He just wants to take the line of politicians, not listen to the opinions of the public. "

Even though the economy faltered and the epidemic continued to ravage most parts of the country, Harris did not blame Trump for all this. She firmly believes that Trump is fighting for people like her. "If Trump is re-elected, I hope he can continue to fight for people who are considered to be at the bottom and continue to work hard to keep his job."

Mike Jachim (Mike? Yakim) supported Trump in 2065438+06 and is still a loyal fan of him.

After the Rhodes factory closed, Iachim moved to GM's factory in Lansing, Michigan, and drove four hours every weekend to Ohio to visit his wife. But he blamed all this on GM, not Trump. "You can't throw the pot to him. General Motors has always had this plan. "

Iachim spoke highly of Trump's economy. He also affirmed Trump's handling of the epidemic. He believes that if Trump is re-elected, he will continue to fight for the restoration of employment.

Jason Makovic:

I only vote for Trump's competitors.

Left Biden, right Trump

Jason Makovic (Jason Markov) said, "I voted for him four years ago. This is the first time to vote for * * * and Republicans. I thought he would support the blue-collar class. " But Makovic has turned against Trump, especially after the Lodztown factory closed. He believes that Trump has done nothing to save it.

"I don't like the status quo of our country." Malkovich said, "The rich are getting richer, and the middle class is being squeezed. I don't think our country can withstand another four years of Donald Trump. " He also said that Trump has lost many standards in dealing with the epidemic. He likes Biden. Biden shook hands with Biden when he visited Mahoning Valley. But he said, "I will vote for anyone who competes with Trump."

Not only in Makovic, but in the last few years of the Lodztown factory, Danny Adams (Danny? Adams) became a complete opponent of Trump. When he heard workers praising Trump, he would ask them directly how they could support such a liar and a man who tried to kill Obamacare and deprive millions of Americans of medical insurance.

"He is a deceitful bully." Adams said that in his view, Trump's promise to return all jobs in Youngstown was inflammatory and absurd. Adams often reminds Trump supporters that Trump's decision to cancel fuel efficiency standards accelerated the demise of their factory. "I told them that voting has consequences."

After working in the Lodztown factory for 24 years, Adams was transferred to GM's factory in Lansing, Michigan, where he shared an apartment with his friends. On weekends, he will drive home to visit his wife, son, daughter and parents.

Adams said that many Lodztown workers who supported Trump on 20 16 had served in the army, and they were concerned that Hillary's gun ban would make them lose their beloved guns.

And 57-year-old Tammy Veneti (Tammy? Vennetti), 20 16 voted for Trump, "I followed the advice of my sister and brother-in-law, although they are Democrats. I have never voted for * * * and the party before, but I voted later, hoping to see what * * * and the party will do in my later years. "

Venetti had worked for GM for 25 years when the Lodztown plant closed. She wanted to transfer to another factory to get a 30-year pension, but at that moment she suffered from stomach trouble. At present, she is still on sick leave, and she is not sure whether she can be transferred or when.

"I regret voting for Trump to some extent. I really regret it. " Her sister still strongly supports Trump. Venetti's attitude towards Biden is contradictory. "I don't really want to vote for him." She said.

The 2020 general election in the United States is just around the corner, and the result may have a global impact on democracy, progress and unity for generations. Transatlantic relations, superpower relations and climate emergencies are all pending. These Ohio blue-collar workers who helped Trump win the election four years ago may play a decisive role again in this year's election. Although many people still support Trump, this part of the dissatisfaction with him may be enough to make these States turn to support Biden.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.