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Trumbull County was a big story: steel. His rise in the first half of the 20th century and his collapse in the second.
Today, Trumbull has many stories. Some focus on continuing economic decline, others on rebirth. These stories often share the same morality repeated in rural communities of Ohio: there is no quick fix.
Behind these stories, there is courage, resilience and effort, especially among the youngest, to get out of the past.
Trumbull still has the vast genetically modified Lordstown plant that has long been his lifejacket. In less than two years, however, the plant lost 3,000 jobs. The future of the remaining 1500 is uncertain.
Warren, the county seat, has David Grohl Alley. This is a strange gesture by the founder of the Foo Fighters, originally from Warren, who houses the Modern Methods Brewing Company. It also has a poverty rate approaching 20%.
It has a new amphitheater in downtown and the crumbling shell of St. Joseph's Hospital.
What it does not have is a way to return to a more prosperous past, or a unique way to engage in a more dynamic future.
"Would not it be a lot easier if a big head office would somehow solve all the problems?" Said Tim Francisco, director of the Youngstown University Working Class Studies Center. . "But I like to think that people are starting to understand more about the need for diversification."
New voices
This search for the future took place on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the sparkling gymnasium of Warren G. Harding High School.
Your Voice Ohio, a collaboration of more than 50 news organizations from across the state, invited participants to define the characteristics of a vibrant community and ways to achieve that momentum. About two dozen people responded.
They included mother and daughter Shalisha and Alexis May. On the final list of five priorities for change – quality jobs, green renewal, responsible government, abandoned buildings and restoration of hope – the couple chose hope.
"The hope is that children will protect their dreams," said Alexis, a 20-year-old criminal justice specialist in the state of Youngstown.
Is the past still the prologue of Trumbull?
Hope has become a reality in most industrial cities in Ohio since at least the year 2000. For decades, the Trumbull and Mahoning regions, known as the Mahoning Valley, have been doing worse.
In September 1977, what is still known as black Monday, 5,000 people from Youngstown Sheet and Tube lost their jobs. Drastic reductions have followed elsewhere, including R.G. Steel, Copperweld, Republic and Packard Electric.
The collapse continued during this century. Since 2000, Trumbull has lost nearly 40% of its total payroll, or $ 1.7 billion.
Manufacturing led the decline. Two-thirds of these jobs have disappeared. The remaining jobs lost nearly 10% of their purchasing power. And the slip is not over yet.
Security remains elusive
Tommy Wolikow, 36, received his permanent papers from Chief Executive Officer Lordstown on January 14, 2013, after five years in acting. He framed them.
"I was in it," he said – $ 26 hour, seniority status, recall rights. "Finally, I'm going to have job security."
GM Lordstown appeared to be on a different planet from the shells of steel mills in his hometown, Youngstown.
This is an American-made complex of over 900 acres, built in the mid-1960s. Big enough to have its own exit on the Ohio Turnpike. Safe enough to use Wolikow's father, John, for 42 years. The chance to emerge from the great recession and GM's bankruptcy in 2009 with a new work contract and a $ 350 million re-equipment.
In 2010, musical groups and executives celebrated together the launch of the Chevrolet Cruze, the first US car model resulting from the recession.
Sales climbed to more than 300,000 in 2014, according to the GM Authority blog. In three years, gas prices had dropped and consumers switched to crossovers and SUVs. Sales of the Cruze declined by a third. (The quarterly sales reports for October showed a further decline of more than 27%.)
On January 20, 2017, Wolikow was fired. The same was true of his fiancée, Rochelle Carlisle, and about 1,500 other people in the third quarter.
Carlisle, now 28, has never exceeded temporary status. Still, she earned $ 19.80 an hour at GM, almost twice what she had as a pharmacy technician.
Even as a temporary worker, she was finally able to save for her daughter's education. "I can lead a normal life," she thought. "I will not have to struggle to live paycheck paychecks."
On June 22, GM announced it was eliminating Lordstown's second shift, bringing the workforce from 3,000 to 1,500.
US Ohio Senators have pushed GM's CEO, Mary Barra, to give assurances that Lordstown has a future. "I'm disappointed that she did not do it," Republican Senator Rob Portman said after meeting Barra last month.
Chevrolet spokesman Tom Mock said GM has invested an additional $ 200 million in Lordstown for the second-generation Cruze. "The factory will continue to operate," he said. "In April, Chevrolet made it clear that it remained attached to compact cars and cars globally."
Families, money and public policy
Meanwhile, hundreds of employees have been transferred to other GM facilities outside of the state. This continues another worrying trend.
The population of Trumbull County has decreased by more than 40,000 since 1980, reaching about 200,000. Its median age has risen to nearly 44 years. It has 36 people of retirement age for every 100 people of working age. That's twice as much as in 1980 and 43% higher than the national average of 25.2%.
Wolikow and Carlisle remain. Both have sick mothers and children from previous relationships. He would lose weekends with his daughter and 8-month-old daughter, Bella, would lose contact with her extended family.
YSU Francisco says that commitment to the family is a fundamental value for many of these communities. "And it's not just about sentimentality," he said. "Working class families support one another."
When GM Lordstown seemed safe, Carlisle and Wolikow bought an oversized, buff-colored landing about 3 km from the factory. The yard is big, the schools are good and nobody cares about safety. Now, they say, they would be lucky if the sale price covered their mortgage.
Tax reductions and commercial agreements
Carlisle, Wolikow and the rest of UAW Local 1112 did not give up. Union President David Green is trying to launch "Drive It Home," an update of an American manufacturing-buying campaign that saved Lordstown a generation ago.
"But I think it's much bigger than Lordstown," Green said. "I think it's the state."
Green said more than a third of the parts used in Cruze manufacture are made in Ohio, many of them in specialty stores. Layoffs also hit suppliers.
Carlisle argued that if Cruze's sales did not recover, GM could transfer production from Korea's Buick Encore to Lordstown. When upgrading Lordstown in 2009, GM said the updated plant could be easily and quickly equipped for other models.
Chevrolet spokesman Mock said the Lordstown plant was flexible, but "easily and quickly" were subjective terms when it came to retooling. He says the company can not comment on strategic decisions regarding specific models.
Wolikow and Carlisle went to a rally of President Trump in West Virginia, and Wolikow went to one of the Minnesota representatives to deliver the Trump campaign director's own letters detailing the problems that were going on. asked Lordstown.
They hoped that the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement would deter GM from transferring its duties to Mexico. They suggested that the tax relief for the GoP could be reworked to include penalties for US firms relocating jobs – or incentives for consumers to buy from the United States. manufactured vehicles.
The tax cuts did not include the penalties or incentives they sought. But replacing NAFTA requires that 30% of the work on off-tariff cars be done by people earning at least $ 16 at the hour.
But that will not start until 2020. And none of this will pay off Wolikow's $ 12,000 credit card debt or make the mortgage payment next month.
So while he hopes (up to 50-50 years, hoping to be recalled by GM), Wolikow used his approximately $ 15,000 federal trade adjustment allowance to go to school for diesel mechanics and the driving trucks. He graduated last month and applied to four employers. Two say that they want more experience.
Carlisle considered returning to work as a pharmacy technician. But that only brings in about $ 10.50 an hour. She is expecting $ 4.15 plus tips at the tables, in part because the flexible hours leave her with Bella's care.
Diversify or die
Even in the 88 counties of Ohio, Trumbull's suffering is striking. But it's not unique. Less than a third of the countries have recovered jobs lost since the 2001 recession.
This is a reversal from the previous half-century; After a severe recession in 1973, all but 10 counties quickly recovered.
Albert Sumell, an economist at the YSU Center for the Study of the Working Class, said that three things are common to most countries that have recovered:
– They host major research universities, relatively unaffected by the recession and offering businesses valuable research and an educated workforce.
– They support quality of life equipment that connects people and places.
– They diversified their economies.
Sumell said that manufacturing often suffered first and then went into recession last. This makes a diversified employment base particularly important in communities like Trumbull. Sumell explains that the county has started to diversify.
"We are much less dependent on manufacturing, because manufacturing has already decreased significantly," he said. "Even if it's for a bad reason, the fact that we're more diverse now means we're less sensitive to fluctuations in the economy in general."
Trumbull also has intentional diversity.
– The Lordstown Energy Center, a $ 890 million natural gas power plant, is about to start.
– Warren's Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center, whose mission statement begins with "We believe actively in people's ability to change the world," launches its Energy Innovation Lab.
– The British company Laird Technologies has created 200 Warren jobs in the $ 60,000 salary range.
– Warren's Chris Alan finally took control of Delphi Packard's ruined factory and plans to build automated parking systems on site.
But, there are some but.
Thanks to automation, the energy center will create permanent jobs in the tens, not the thousands. Skilled trades employers say they can not find enough reliable, drug-free employees to fill vacant positions. Employers and potential workers are often in separate communities. And often, a job is not enough.
How many jobs are enough?
Jake Hvisdak stopped at the family and friends party marking the end of Tommy Wolikow's studies at the Diesel Mechanic School. He had a few minutes before heading to a bar where his wife works and he provides security on Saturday night.
His usual job is to run a crane truck and a crane for Lamar, a billboard company. Jobs pay well, but they are few. His crew of six works from western Pennsylvania to Lisbon.
Hvisdak has a commercial driver's license and a handful of additional commercial certifications. His wife runs his own cleaning company. A few years ago, they bought a few rental properties.
"We are not rich," he said, "but we have pretty much everything we want."
Out of time, between them and with their children.
"As soon as I get home, I say," Hi. Goodbye. "She left. I sleep when she comes home. We see each other on the weekends. He shrugged. "That's how it works, the two, three or four jobs."
A series of basic hits
At meetings held in Your Voice in Ohio, across the state, many said that the hope came from a strong community – people willing to invest in each other, so that growth can come from within.
Shari Harrell first entered the real estate business created by her grandfather. She now heads the community foundation of Mahoning Valley.
She said that young people are approaching the economy in new ways. "It's looking at the place and the space differently – so it's not always like that for them."
Adam Keck and Sarah Braun envisioned two spaces differently: a dilapidated $ 15,000 Victorian house in downtown Warren and a converted warehouse five minutes walk away.
We became their home. The other became Modern Methods Brewing Company.
The couple drafted his business plan for the craft brewery in 2016. Keck said he had rejected a plot that Trumbull had been keeping for years.
The story was: "Well, we just have to wait. … It's only a matter of time before we move on to another big steel company or another company that will create hundreds of jobs. "
Without waiting, they convinced 42 people to invest at least $ 5,000 in the brewery. Keck sees them as part of "the new wave of people who think like me".
Trumbull's solution "will not be a big business," he said. "There will be a lot of basic success."
Keck grew up in the rural area of North Jackson, about 20 minutes away. His family took advantage of the steel boom. After graduating from Brown University in 2009, he returned to organizing communities in troubled Warren neighborhoods.
He fell in love with the place and a two year stay turned into four. The projects included the creation of a land bank to rectify vacant properties in neighborhoods ravaged by the collapse of the real estate market.
The brewery started in the garage of his parents. This is done today in an elegant wooden, steel and brick room, where 50-pound bags of local malt await the next brew.
Keck and Braun had planned to rapidly expand their regional distribution. Fearing that the craft beer market would become too saturated, they focused on creating a community space in what is now becoming a downtown neighborhood.
The USS economist, Sumell, said it was the third remedy for struggling communities: improving what gives people an emotional connection to each other, such as pedestrian potential, safety , parks and schools.
He acknowledged that the communities most in need of these amenities are often too comfortable to support them.
"Unfortunately, if you are stuck in this vicious circle, it is difficult to stop it, but the corollary is that if you have the virtuous cycle, it is also built on itself. the decline to a point where it goes in the opposite direction with time. "
Trumbull has been trying to slow down the decline for decades. In some ways, his industrial past pays him over time.
Long after Trumbull stopped producing the Packard automobile, the band played W.D. Packard. This is his 63rd season of free orchestral concerts on Sunday afternoon at Packard Music Hall, next to the Packard Museum, next to Packard Park and featuring industrialist William Doud Packard.
On a recent weekend. People wiped their tears before applauding for Joseph Kromholz's violin solo – theme of "Schindler's List".
Harrell, from the Community Foundation, said such experiences should be part of Trumbull's reflections on his future.
"We are so focused on what's gone, what's missing, what's not there, that we neglect to look at what's good, what's growing, what's here."
Mr. L. Schultze is a former editor, reporter and director of information for WKSU Public Radio and Canton Repository. She is currently a freelance writer and can be emailed to [email protected]. David Knox, independent journalist in the field of data, contributed to this project.
About this story
The story of Trumbull County is part of the Your Voice Ohio project, a collaboration of more than 50 media outlets sharing resources and stories about how communities are envisioning a new dynamic future after a sharp fall in economic and social policies. life quality.
Nine community meetings were held in the United States in September and October, the results of which are available on the Your Voice Ohio website and on participating media websites, including Record-Courier.
Your Voice Ohio was established in 2015 as part of a media effort to better represent the people of Ohio in democratic processes and to restore confidence in local news. Citizen engagement activities involving journalists with citizens are designed and facilitated by Andrew Rockway, program director at the Jefferson Center, a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Akron. News's participation is guided by Akron Beacon Journal's former editor, Doug Oplinger.
Funding comes from the Democracy Fund and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Targeted funding for research in Northeastern Ohio has been provided by the George Gund Foundation and the Fund for Our Economic Future, an alliance of foundations in northeastern Ohio.
Media Participants in Northeastern Ohio: The Plain Dealer, Warren Tribune Chronicle, The Vindicator of Youngstown, The Akron Beacon Journal, The Repository of Canton, Record-Courier Public Radio, WKSU and WCPN, WKYC- Cleveland TV and WFMJ-TV Youngstown, Cleveland Jewish News and The Devil Band of Akron.
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