A local EV plant, strengthened by Biden's climate legislation, ignites optimism in Northeastern Ohio, although it fails to revitalize its Democratic political base.
Years of hollow pledges being swapped for actualization now manifests in the form of 2200 workers at the Ultium Cells electric vehicle battery plant, positioned as a pioneer in advanced green technology and production.
In the shadow of the towering abandoned General Motors Lordstown plant that shut its doors in 2019, leaving individuals like George Goranitis without their only employment and residence, is where hope lies in decay.
Goranitis, a former employee, stated, "All the steel mills shutting down, packers shutting down – the last thing left for good-paying jobs was General Motors Lordstown."
The erosion of Lordstown's last pillar as a manufacturing powerhouse deeply impacted the coping abilities of its inhabitants.
Goranitis nostalgically recalled, "Members couldn't handle some of the news, and due to their situations at that time, they took their own lives. Divorces took place because of it, ripping families apart."
The Lordstown GM plant closure in Mahoning Valley, Northeast Ohio, is nothing new.
Nor is the story of former President Donald Trump seizing upon the existential fears within the community with his impressive promises to restore Joe Public's manufacturing stature.
In the Democratic bastion of Trumbull County, swarmed by union workers, President Barack Obama defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney by a colossal 23-point margin in 2012.
Four years later, Trump overturned the county's tradition, thus becoming the first Republican to do so in over four decades, signifying a potent surge among White blue-collar workers in the Midwestern manufacturing heartland.
Trump prevailed in Trumbull County by an even more impressive margin in 2020, aiding Ohio's decisive transition into Republican territories.
Trump has taken up the GOP nomination once more and remains committed to his Midwestern manufacturing revival.
He proclaimed at a Michigan meeting this month, "We will bring in countless auto plants to our country. You'll be just as influential or more influential than you were 50 years ago."
Trump's pitch reveals an acute comprehension of union voters' - particularly auto workers' - influence on regaining the presidency in crucial states typically forming a political bulwark like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
It also emphasizes the relevance of the Lordstown story – and its home to the new electric vehicle battery plant – given the ongoing political landscape.
Lordstown currently embodies the twisted intersection of unfulfilled pledges, the aspirations and pitfalls of economic transformation, and the surging turbulence inside unions across the nation that have simultaneously experienced significant victories and seen a noticeable erosion of their traditional support for the Democratic Party.
"Our plant, honestly, is a Trump plant," Goranitis, a union organizer at the Ultium plant, summarized, speaking of his fellow union workers in Warren, OH.
Trump's 2017 reassurance
When Trump visited nearby Youngstown during his first year as president, Lordstown GM was plagued by mounting difficulties. Trump's attention-grabbing declarations found resonance in the community.
"Don't move," Trump urged, guaranteeing employment's return to the region, "Don't sell your home."
Many of the plant's staff allegedly took Trump's words at face value, as per David Green, who functioned as the local UAW president during Trump's term.
Seventeen months later, GM reported the plant's temporary closure. Workers interested in preserving their pensions were required to move to other GM facilities. Homes were sold. Families relocated. Some commuted each week to the new locations, leaving their families behind.
Trump vented his frustration at GM's leadership on Twitter and advocated for an alternative arrangement to reopen the plant.
Yet, Green shared that his pleas to the White House for help went unanswered – until after he outspoke on Fox News.
Trump noticed.
Shortly after, Trump tweeted directly at Green, "Democrat UAW Local 1112 President David Green ought to get his act together and produce." "G.M. let our Country down, but other superior car companies are moving into the U.S. in droves. I want action on Lordstown fast. Stop complaining and make it happen!"
It was an electrifying moment for Green, whose father had previously worked at the GM Lordstown factory and who worked there until the plant shut down.
"I ignored it because my mama told me, 'Don't give it any credibility, and it goes nowhere,'" Green admitted. "The reality is that my daughter had been bullied over that. And I didn't know until just a couple of years ago when she told me. She was a senior in high school, and kids were blaming me and angry at her and bullying her."
Trump generationally flaunted Lordstown Motors as the anticipated salvation he helped bring about.
He dispatched Vice President Mike Pence to trip the facility in 2020, accompanied by cameras.
Before the fall 2020 elections, Trump staged an elaborate promotional event on the White House South Lawn, surrounded by prototypes of what the company boasted would be the primary all-electric commercial pickup truck.
"The area was wrecked when General Motors left, but we worked together and made the deal on the plant," Trump claimed as he stood beside the company's CEO.
Eventually, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy three years later.
The figure standing beside Trump eventually agreed to settle with federal regulators over accusations of deceiving investors regarding the demand for the initial all-electric commercial truck pickup launched by his enterprise. He denied any wrongdoing.
Ultium's Groundbreaking Moment
Considering the past few years, it's understandable that skepticism prevailed within the community when the new collaboration between GM and South Korea's LG commenced building their planned electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant, opening in 2022.
Inside that plant this summer, Josh Ayers opened up about the moment he truly believed in its potential.
"Probably when they actually broke ground. I mean, honestly," Ayers said. When Ayers left his role at GM and his home town, he never envisioned returning to either.
"This offers a new opportunity for those in the Valley," Ayers said as he enumerated the reasons valued by his community, ranging from close-knit relationships to the beloved local dining establishments such as Wedgewood Pizza and the Hot Dog Shoppe.
Standing in a high-tech plant like Ultium was captivating enough. To share the space with Kareem Maine, the plant director who had faced off against him during contract negotiations for months, was extraordinary.
The approval of their agreement in June marked a turning point in a plant that has essentially paved the way for industry expansion.
"It's easy to get engrossed in daily work and overlook it, but you must stop and consider, 'Wow, we achieved a lot in a short span of time,'" Maine said.
These accomplishments have stirred interest among the present Oval Office inhabitant, prompting him to commend Ayers and his team shortly after the agreement.
"Five years ago, the previous administration misled Lordstown workers – and then neglected as the community suffered job losses and economic hardship," President Joe Biden said in a statement. "Today, Lordstown is a story of revival, and it didn’t happen by chance."
The Ultium plant began production just two weeks after Biden signed the comprehensive clean energy investment bill.
Stunning Successes
The Biden administration has leveraged its significant legislative victories to support Ultium by providing billions of dollars in grants and funding assistance.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris remain unapologetically in favor of unions, with Biden frequently citing his belief that he is the most "pro-union president in history."
"I agree with that," Green said.
As UAW leaders, both national and local, frequently urged Biden and Harris to take a stronger stance on behalf of the union throughout the negotiations, their influence on the final outcome resulted in zealous national endorsements.
And the results are tangible, strengthening UAW President Shawn Fain's strike strategy that resulted in a groundbreaking agreement with the Big Three automakers.
However, it was Ultium's inclusion in that agreement – initially considered an unlikely scenario in the negotiations – that initiated significant change in Northeast Ohio.
Overall, wages for the plant's employees increased significantly over the agreement's duration.
Safety standards, serving as a benchmark in future agreements, were agreed upon.
Most importantly, Lordstown employees forced to relocate in 2019 were granted a clear path home.
"I cried numerous times during these conversations with my former colleagues in Lordstown," Goranitis, who started at GM straight out of high school and spearheaded union efforts at the new plant, shared. "They never believed it was possible."
Fain was invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, elevating the Lordstown story.
The UAW endorsed Harris and disseminated videos showcasing her support for unions and her experience on the picket line as a senator and presidential contender in 2019.
However, this consistent track record of achievements has not significantly impacted rank-and-file workers on the ground.
"Many members I speak with remember how prosperous our economy and thriving businesses were during Trump's tenure," Goranitis said.
Goranitis, now in a leadership role after his efforts over the past few years, is confronting the complexities that UAW leaders are dealing with in the months leading up to the elections.
He will not instruct his members on how to vote, but he is attempting to elucidate his perception that Harris and Democrats have been more advantageous for his members. The outcomes here are, at least initially, evident.
And yet.
"It's a challenging time now, isn't it? Because, you know, unions have traditionally backed Democrats," Goranitis said. "Always have. And it appears as if it's beginning to shift."
The Lordstown story and the new Ultium Cells electric vehicle battery plant, a symbol of advanced green technology and production, have become significant factors in the ongoing political landscape.
Politicians, including former President Donald Trump, have recognized the potential influence of auto workers in crucial states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and have made promises to revive the manufacturing sector.
