United Steelworkers
During the 2016 election, I went out in the rain to vote for Donald Trump. I believed him when he pledged to stop outsourcing and put working people first. I was heartened when he promised, on election night, to defend the “forgotten men and women of our country.”
Most of all, I believed him when he said he’d save my job at the Carrier plant in Indianapolis.
This month, despite Trump’s promise, Carrier laid off another 215 employees and shifted their work to Mexico. I lost my job. As a result, I’m losing my health insurance, my retirement benefits and quite possibly my home.
Now, more than anything, I want Donald Trump to remember me. I feel betrayed, angry and forgotten—and I’m not alone. Nearly 100,000 American workers across the country lost their jobs to outsourcing during Trump’s first year in office. That number includes more than 10,000 who worked for federal contractors––a record.
Even though working people like me helped put Trump in the White House, the truth is that he’s done nothing to keep his promises to save American jobs.
Instead of punishing companies like Carrier that ship good jobs overseas, he’s rewarding them with federal tax dollars. Under the Trump administration, Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies Corporation (UTC), received more than $1 billion in lucrative government contracts.
In fact, 56 of the 100 top federal contractors—companies like UTC, GE and GM—continue to offshore jobs. In return, they’ve been handed almost $21 billion from the Trump administration, according to a report from Good Jobs Nation.
It doesn’t have to be this way. President Trump could sign an executive order that prevents companies that send jobs overseas from being eligible for federal contracts. It’s that simple.
He can prove to me and the other workers at Carrier that he means what he says. He can show America’s working people that he cares about us and our families.
When Trump was elected, I was hopeful about the future. My son just returned safely from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Our family welcomed a new grandson to the world. I recovered from a spate of health problems. And I believed that my good union job was safe and secure.
Renee Elliott, provided photo
But now, I’m scared about my future and that of my family.
I want Trump to remember me and all those voters he betrayed. I want him to know that he’s not making America great again for workers like me. And I want him to know that, next Election Day, I’m holding him accountable.
Renee Elliott of Indianapolis, Indiana, worked at Carrier from May 2013 to January 2018.