The landscape of American manufacturing has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past several decades. Once the powerhouse of global production, the United States has seen a significant portion of its manufacturing sector move overseas, with the brunt of the impact felt by both blue-collar workers and local economies.
The Human Side
Behind the statistics on industrial output lies the human toll of a nation striving to redefine itself. People’s livelihoods have been affected, shifting populations as work dried up in once-prosperous manufacturing hubs. The blue-collar workers of these areas—many of whom poured their lifetimes into these jobs—have witnessed the erosion of a way of life.
With layoffs, employees and their families lost.
- Wages
- Medical benefits
- Life insurance
- Dental and vision benefits
- Their homes
They were unable to buy food, pay for vehicles and rent/mortgage and support their children’s school activities. The ability to move for another opportunity is diminished due to the inability to sell their homes in a jobless community and being re-educated at 100,000’s for a 4-year degree was out of site.
Today the disaster is no different from the past for American workers, but the success remains the same for American political environment of profitability.
History is important.
The political disaster for Americans started along time ago but let’s begin in 1977.
1977
Black Monday in the Steel Valley (from Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio eastward toward Pittsburgh). Youngstown Sheet and Tube abruptly furloughed 5,000 workers in one day.
Political madness was controlled by.
- — President Jimmy Carter.
- — Vice President Walter F. Mondale.
- — Congress both chambers retained a Democratic majority.
- — Governor James Allen Rhodes, Republican.
- — Governor Richard F. Celeste, Democrat.
The bleeding has never stopped.
2024
It’s an election year and politicians once again will take center stage to perform.
Ohio’s Senator Race
- — President Joe Biden takes a tougher stance on trade with China. After 50+ years in politics he has finally realized that Chaina exists.
- — Sherrod Brown and Bernie Moreno have both criticized unfair Chinese trade practices. Since 2007, Brown seemed to be missing from the conversion.
- — Brown wants a ban on Chinese imports of electric vehicles. Why? The scam of electric vehicles should be over.
After the 2024 political performances nothing will change. Hopefully, voters don’t continue to believe in the political spin. However, manufacturing is stirring the pot for voters in Ohio.
There have been too many manufacturing losses to list in Ohio over the decades which continue today. Listed below are some of the most recent layoffs that the 2024 election will be focused on and a review of a few from a historical perspective.
2003
160,000 factory jobs lost in three years in Ohio.
2.7 million manufacturing jobs were lost nationwide in the same three years.
Political responsibility.
- President Bill Clinton, Democrat
- Vice President Al Gore, Democrat
- Governor Nancy Hollister, Republican
- Both chambers of the state legislature, Republican, 2000/1999
- President George W. Bush, Republican
- Vice President Dick Cheney, Republican
- Governor Robert Alphonso Taft III, Republican
- Both chambers of the state legislature, Republican, 2001/2002
2011
3,500 factories over the last 10 years.
“While I believe Ohioans deserve a level playing field when it comes to trade with China, I oppose this legislation because it will hurt our economy and result in fewer jobs for Ohioans,” U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R, 2011.
2019
- — GM, Lordstown plant – 1,600 employees.
2021
- — Fiesta Tableware Company – 59 employees.
2023
- — Whitehouse aluminum can plant.
- — The W.H. Sammis coal power plant – 140 employees.
- — Honeywell – 66 employees.
- — Honeywell, Intelligrated facility, West Chester – 223 employees.
- — Sherwin Williams – 50 employees.
- — Tenneco – 597 employees.
2024
- — Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs – 900 employees.
- — Honeywell, Fairfield facility, 66 employees (by the end of 2024)
- — VS Direct Fulfillment LLC, Victoria’s Secret call center – 120 employees.
- — Bernard Soap Company, a subsidiary of Procter and Gamble – 118 employees.
- — Post Holdings – 200 employees.
- — Linamar Structures USA – 100 employees.
- — Nestlé – 216 workers.
- — Chillicothe manufacturer – 79 employees.
- — Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. – 900 employees. The organization states it can’t compete with tariffs.
“We worked very closely with our partners at the USW on this solution to save Weirton, and together fought tirelessly for its survival. In what was our final effort to maintain tinplate production here in America, we proved that we are forced to operate on an uneven playing field, and that the deck was stacked in favor of the importers. Despite the Department of Commerce finding evidence of dumping and subsidization from respondent countries, the ITC shockingly ruled against imposition of tariffs, keeping the uneven playing field in place and making it impossible for us to viably produce tinplate.” Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
2025
- — Honeywell, Intelligrated manufacturing London facility – 98 employees (May 2025).
How Does Ohio Survive?
Today, 14% of good paying jobs with benefits in Ohio are in manufacturing out of a population of 11.76 million (2022). Beside the few people that work in manufacturing, the top three job categories and average pay in 2022 included.
- Fast food and counter workers – $11.94 per hour. Soon to be replaced with technology.
- Registered nurses – $36.93 per hour.
- Stock and order fillers – $16.60 per hour. Soon to be replaced with technology.
- General and operations managers – $36.93 per hour. Soon to experience employee downsizing due to technology.
The sell out of manufacturing and the creation of low pay service industry jobs has affected the entire nation, especially Ohio. The results have caused 13.9% poverty, 80% of Ohioans struggling to survive and average cost of a house according Bank Rate is $275,461, 2023, indicating most people in Ohio can’t afford a middle-class standard of living.
Ohio’s current political madness.
- — Governor Mike DeWine, Republican.
- — Governor Jon Husted, Republican.
- — Both chambers of the state legislature, Republican.
- — President Biden, Democrat.
- — Vice President Harris, Democrat.
Votes Matter.
The Illusion of Affiliation
At the heart of every election, voters are urged to pick a side, to wear their party affiliation like a badge of honor, and to cast their ballots often in line with the well-defined narratives of ‘left’ and ‘right’. But what does party loyalty truly signify amid a complex issue like immigration or fair trading, where candidates often cherry-pick talking points that resonate within their party base rather than pursuing comprehensive solutions?
Additionally, congressional members worried TikTok because of the Chinese organization security issues of American information, the same information the US government tracks violating Americans privacy, vs. debating decades of shipping American jobs to China and other parts of the world.
What does party loyalty have to do with arguing politicians over a social media platform vs. fair trade policy?
Nothing.
Votes don’t matter without accountability.
