Laid-off Ohio union workers turn on Trump days after rally as economic pain shapes election battle
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Drinking tea out of beer mugs alongside his colleagues, Kyle Bos reflected on the ways his life is changing.
Bos is a father of two, with a third daughter expected in January. At his local grocery store, five items now cost as much as an entire cart once did. On Wednesday, Bos and nearly 1,400 other people were laid off from their jobs at what had been the Navistar truck factory in southwestern Ohio.
The layoffs, occurring just three days before President Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday at a nearby high school, were large enough to basically erase an entire year of job growth in the greater Dayton, Ohio, area. And they are one reason why Bos, 30, plans to spend the final weeks before the November election canvassing votes for Democrats.
Asked how many times he had voted for Trump, Bos held up three tattooed fingers. But he said he is done with the president.
"Something has to change politically in this country," said Bos, a member of the United Auto Workers who identifies as a centrist. "Seems like it just kept getting worse and worse and worse."
This year’s election is a test for the working-class coalition that lifted Trump into the White House and gave majorities to Republicans in the House and Senate.
The outcome will be decided in places like Dayton, which once sprouted factories because it led America in patents per capita. The Wright brothers’ airplane, the cash register, the stepladder and the electric car starter were all invented in this city of 137,000.
Trump's blunt talk and status as a celebrity businessman initially helped him around Dayton, where voters felt traditional politics had failed them. Republicans secured wins across the broader metro area, but this year the party is vulnerable among voters disgruntled about inflation, the Iran war, and a president who seems unsympathetic to their daily struggles.
An Ohio race could help determine control of the Senate. Republican Sen. Jon Husted is facing a challenge from former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is attempting to harness that disenchantment as he seeks a comeback two years after losing his seat.
Americans increasingly blame Trump for the high cost of living, with just 17% approving of his handling of the issue.
Trump did not discuss grocery prices, gas prices, or factory layoffs during his Saturday night rally in Vandalia, part of what he says will be a 32-day marathon of events aimed at convincing the public that the economy is performing better than they think.
"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," he told the rally.
Trump has largely sneered at concerns about affordability, but he is promising to give people $5,000 checks if Republicans win the House and Senate next month — something Bos said he found offensive.
"It feels like a bribe, a slap in the face, and, like, that we’re all ignorant," Bos said.
The Dayton area has shed roughly half of its 90,000 manufacturing jobs since 1990, according to federal figures, after the North American Free Trade Agreement shifted many jobs to Mexico where auto components could be produced more cheaply. That trend accelerated after China joined the World Trade Organization.
As steady paychecks vanished, drug addiction and crime increased across the area. Conditions reached a low point following the 2008 financial crisis, prompting Phil Plummer — who was then Montgomery County Sheriff — to enter political life.
"My jail was 40% drug addicts, 50% mental health patients, 10% criminals," said Plummer, who has been a Republican state representative since 2019. "We got it upside down — that’s what drove me to the state house."
Plummer, the Montgomery County Republican chairman, is now on the ballot for the Ohio state Senate and stressed that Trump remains the force keeping the GOP's coalition of corporate interests and working-class families together.
In recent years, the local economy showed signs of improvement as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base expanded, now directly employing 38,000 people. The facility's innovations have drawn new aerospace companies to the region, including Joby Aviation, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Electra.
Trump pointed to an $850 million investment by aircraft manufacturer Electra — alongside a new project in Ohio from Stellantis and a Friday announcement from Bayer regarding a $2.2 billion pharmaceutical plant near Columbus — as evidence his policies were creating jobs.
Dayton rebounded because Republicans and Democrats alike recognized the value coming out of Wright-Patterson over the past two decades, according to Jeff Hoagland, CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition.
"In economic development, it takes time, and you have got to give it a little bit of time to bake, and then once it does, then you’re going to have something special," Hoagland said.
Downtown Dayton has added residential lofts, while the historic Dayton Arcade complex, featuring its glass dome and mosaic-tiled floors, has been renovated into shops, an art gallery, and eateries.
On Monday, the gallery echoed with the sound of an acoustic guitar and flute during a fundraiser for Rose Lounsbury, a former schoolteacher making her second run as a Democrat for state representative.
Guests expressed optimism that Democrats could pick up a U.S. Senate seat, a governorship, and enough seats in the Ohio House of Representatives to end a Republican supermajority.
"There is a gap between what people want and what they feel is available," Lounsbury said. "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."
Lounsbury’s Republican opponent, State Rep. Andrea White, spent time in the state capital of Columbus over the past week helping lead an effort to pass a temporary suspension of the state gas tax of 38.5 cents per gallon to provide relief at the pump.
White argued that the Republican-led state government has cushioned the impact of inflation by flattening state income tax rates and checking property tax increases.
"The concept is, put it back in the hands of the people who pay the taxes — so they have more of their own money," White said.
The White House said Trump's tax cuts and trade agreements have assisted Ohio. However, experiences at the former Navistar facility demonstrate that policies intended to support the working class fell short.
His broad tariffs failed to drive demand, and the plant's former owner, International Motors, chose to offload the facility. Meanwhile, Trump's primary legislative achievement — the One Big Beautiful Bill — added little to take-home pay, even as it temporarily eliminated taxes on tips and overtime.
"We weren’t getting a lot of overtime because of the economy," said Marianne Donnelly, who drove a forklift at the factory. "There just wasn’t any to be had, very little to be had."
At the same time, household costs have continued to climb. Donnelly buys marked-down beef, pork, and chicken to store in her freezer, and she canceled her subscriptions to The Columbus Dispatch and The Washington Post, along with several streaming platforms.
Laid-off workers like Donnelly expect to be rehired within six to 12 months by Roshel, a Canadian producer of armored vehicles acquiring the plant. Roshel stated it is "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."
On the Monday prior to the layoffs, Morgan Hughes and JoJo Burkhard were canvassing neighborhoods in Kettering, a Dayton suburb named after the inventor of the electric car starter. They were working to persuade union members and retirees to vote for Democrats.
The Navistar job had enabled Hughes, 35, to buy a home at age 21 and work beside her father.
When her working hours were reduced, Hughes drove for DoorDash and earned a real estate license. On her wrist is a tattoo of a cross and the words "Be Still And Know," referencing Psalm 46:10, which speaks to how faith in God helps overcome fear.
Hughes noted that union members and retirees simply want to be heard after feeling neglected by politicians. Burkhard said inflation and economic stress have made it easier to convert swing 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."
After spending the morning speaking with voters, the pair stopped at a Chinese restaurant for potstickers as the weight of the week set in.
Burkhard opened a fortune cookie and tears welled in her eyes. The layoffs meant no income for her, her boyfriend, and her mother — making the message inside feel almost prophetic. She said she needed the hope it offered.
Her fortune read, "You’ll find your inner strength to overcome challenges."
