![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/369218.jpg\" "\\"A")
<\/p>\nBETHLEHEM, Oct 19 \u2014 In a US city once known for its steel industry, workers enjoy family outings beside retired, rust-streaked blast furnaces.<\/p>\n
This massive steel mill in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, fell silent in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
But the partially redeveloped industrial site came alive again at a recent Oktoberfest event featuring attendees in Bavarian dress, large beer steins and a massive screen playing American football.<\/p>\n
Among the event\u2019s attendees were supporters of President Donald Trump, who stand by his Republican Party, despite disappointments.<\/p>\n
Commercial roofer Nev Hamm recalled living \u201cright behind\u201d the steel plant in the 1980s, when it was still running.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good and they screwed up here. They gave it away,\u201d the 62-year-old told AFP.<\/p>\n
But he believes that industry is \u201ccoming back\u201d thanks to Trump\u2019s protectionist policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be better as soon as we\u2019re done with the Iranian war,\u201d Hamm added, referring to the US-Israel war with Iran that started in late February.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem sits at the heart of the Lehigh Valley, a former US stronghold of heavy industry.<\/p>\n
Workers now find jobs in logistics, food manufacturing \u2014 especially pet food \u2014 and a growing pharmaceutical sector, with a plant for weight-loss drugs opening soon.<\/p>\n
Beth Piniella, 40, feels that her family is doing all right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI make decent money,\u201d she told AFP of her job cleaning a warehouse for a packaging and business supplies distributor.<\/p>\n
On Trump, for whom she voted, she added: \u201cI really think it\u2019s hit or miss on certain things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearby, her husband Brian said he was \u201ca little disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought prices were coming down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Stuck\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A person walks past the former Bethlehem Steel plant, now part of the SteelStacks arts and entertainment campus, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on October 4, 2026. \u2014 AFP pic<\/p>\n
The district where they live could tip control of the US House of Representatives to Democrats following the November 3 midterm elections.<\/p>\n
Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie won by a narrow margin in 2024.<\/p>\n
His Democratic rival is Bob Brooks, a former firefighter and political newcomer who positions himself as a voice for the working class.<\/p>\n
Still, voters like Henry Martin plan to skip the polls entirely this time, frustrated with both major political parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re living the high life,\u201d said the 32-year-old warehouse manager. \u201cThe everyday average Joe like me, we\u2019re not doing great at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
He feels \u201cstuck\u201d between the \u201cterrible\u201d rent he has to pay and home prices that are \u201cinsanely out of reach.\u201d<\/p>\n
In nearby Allentown, a billboard urges drivers to vote for Brooks.<\/p>\n
Ramona Chery, who works at a tire shop just below the sign, said the city\u2019s large Latino community has been shaken by Trump\u2019s hardline immigration policies and inflation.<\/p>\n
Gains among Latino voters in the 2024 presidential election helped return Trump to the White House.<\/p>\n
But Chery said: \u201cThere\u2019s more poverty than before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Enough is enough\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"Construction](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/369219.jpg\" "\\"Construction")
<\/p>\n
Construction workers at a job site in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 6, 2026. Pennsylvania\u2019s 7th congressional district, including Allentown and Bethlehem, could tip control of the House of Representatives to Democrats following the midterm elections on November 3. Democratic candidate Bob Brooks is running against Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie. \u2014 AFP pic<\/p>\n
Mike Shupp, who is president of the local United Auto Workers\u2019 union, said: \u201cI wish there was a manufacturing boom, but I\u2019m not seeing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
At his office in Allentown, the labor leader recounted how the area used to be lined with manufacturing facilities.<\/p>\n
He worries that American truck manufacturer Mack will continue cutting US production, shifting jobs to Mexico.<\/p>\n
About a 20-minute drive away, the region\u2019s last remaining Mack plant employs some 2,800 people.<\/p>\n
The company had announced plans to lay off up to 350 workers at the facility in April 2025, partly due to Trump\u2019s tariffs.<\/p>\n
Around 170 employees were ultimately let go, only to be recalled when business conditions improved \u2014 and Trump himself visited the site in June to tout his policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t interested in being involved with that,\u201d said Shawn Smith, 52, a technician who puts finishing touches on heavy trucks.<\/p>\n
Smith, a union representative, supports Democratic candidate Brooks.<\/p>\n
He added that workers \u201cdon\u2019t talk politics\u201d at the plant as it \u201cjust starts an argument.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, he believes: \u201cThere\u2019s enough of a disconnect, and there\u2019s enough independents and Republicans that (will) say enough is enough, and they want a little bit of a change.\u201d \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Oct 19 \u2014 In a US city once known for its steel industry, workers enjoy family outings…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,1583,34,157,1582,127046],"class_list":["post-310348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-bob-brooks","tag-donald-trump","tag-lehigh-valley","tag-ryan-mackenzie","tag-united-auto-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}