Laid off Ohio Union Workers Turn on Donald Trump Days After Rally as Economic Pain Shapes Race

Nearly 1,400 workers lost their jobs at a former Navistar truck factory in southwestern Ohio days before Donald Trump held a rally nearby, as some union members reconsidered their support for the US president ahead of the November election.

Among them is Kyle Bos, a 30-year-old father and United Auto Workers member who said he had voted for Trump three times. Now, with a third daughter due in January and household costs rising, he said he plans to canvass for Democrats.

'Something has to change politically in this country,' Bos said. 'Seems like it just kept getting worse and worse and worse.'

Laid-off Ohio Workers Face Uncertain Future

Workers at the former Navistar facility were laid off on Wednesday, three days before Trump's Oct. 3 rally in Vandalia, near Dayton. The layoffs were large enough to roughly erase a year's worth of job growth in the greater Dayton area, according to reports.

Trump did not address grocery prices, fuel costs or the factory layoffs during the rally. Instead, he defended his economic record and told supporters that the media had refused to discuss what he described as 'record-setting numbers.'

'The fake news media, they refuse to talk about our record-setting numbers. So tonight, if you don't mind, I'm going to do it myself,' Trump said.

But some workers interviewed in the Dayton area said Trump's economic message did not reflect their experience of reduced hours, higher bills and sudden job losses. Bos said Trump's proposal for a $5,000 dividend to American adults if Republicans retain control of Congress felt less like relief and more like an insult.

'It feels like a bribe, a slap in the face, and, like, that we're all ignorant,' he said. The economic frustration former Navistar workers describe extends beyond the closure itself. Dayton has lost roughly half of its 90,000 manufacturing jobs since 1990, according to federal data the Associated Press cited.

The decline came as auto-parts production increasingly moved to Mexico following the North American Free Trade Agreement, while the trend accelerated after China joined the World Trade Organisation, per AP.

For workers who built their livelihoods around industrial jobs, the losses have been personal as well as economic.

Marianne Donnelly, who drove a forklift at the plant, said overtime had already become scarce before the layoffs. She said she had responded to higher food and subscription costs by buying discounted meat and cancelling newspaper and streaming subscriptions.

'We weren't getting a lot of overtime because of the economy,' Donnelly said. 'There just wasn't any to be had, very little to be had.'

The workers are not necessarily facing permanent unemployment. Roshel, a Canadian armoured-vehicle manufacturer that is buying the plant, said it was 'working with everyone involved not only to protect the current workforce, but to more than double it over the coming years through a phased process.'

Former employees expect some workers could be rehired within six to 12 months. The prospect of rehiring offers some former workers a potential path back to employment, but it does not replace the wages they have lost in the meantime.

Economic Anxiety Enters Ohio's Senate Race

The Dayton area is becoming a focus for Democrats testing whether economic frustration is weakening Trump's support among working-class voters. Democrats are seeking to make inflation and job insecurity central issues in the campaign.

Ohio's Senate race adds to the stakes. Republican Jon Husted is facing former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is seeking a return to office two years after losing his seat. The race is one of several that could determine which party controls the Senate.

The debate also centres on Trump's economic policies. The White House says Trump's tax cuts and trade policies have benefited Ohio. His supporters also point to new investment, including an $850 million commitment by aircraft manufacturer Electra and Bayer's planned $2.2 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing site in New Albany, near Columbus.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has also expanded its workforce and now has more than 38,000 employees, including military personnel, civilians and contractors. The region has also attracted aerospace companies including Joby Aviation, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Electra.

Whether those investments improve the economic circumstances of households affected by factory closures is becoming a central question in the campaign.

'There is a gap between what people want and what they feel is available, said Democratic state Senate candidate Rose Lounsbury. 'People don't want to live a life of subsistence. They want to live the middle-class dream, and they feel it's not available like it once was.'

Republican lawmakers say the state government's income-tax cuts and limits on property-tax increases have helped cushion the impact of higher costs. State Rep. Andrea White has also backed legislation to temporarily suspend Ohio's 38.5-cent-per-gallon state gasoline tax.

Yet political promises can sound distant to workers who have already lost their jobs or seen their hours cut.

Morgan Hughes once bought a home at 21 and worked alongside her father at the plant. After her hours were reduced, she began working for DoorDash and obtained a real estate licence.

Hughes and campaign organiser JoJo Burkhard have been visiting neighbourhoods in Kettering, urging union members and retirees to vote for Democratic candidates. Burkhard said inflation and the economy had made it easier to persuade voters.

'It isn't a hard pitch at all,' she said. 'And even if they don't want to stay Democratic long-term, they'll at least give the candidates a chance this election, which could be a turning point for us.'

Later, over potstickers, Burkhard opened a fortune cookie and began to cry. She said the layoffs had left her, her boyfriend and her mother without work.

The message inside read, 'You'll find your inner strength to overcome challenges.' For once, the politics could wait.