Union Affected By Carrier Layoffs Backs Hogsett For Mayor

United Steelworkers Local 1999, an Indianapolis-based union, announced Monday it will support Mayor Joe Hogsett in his bid for re-election.

Hundreds of Local 1999 members lost their jobs after a Carrier manufacturing plant announced in 2016 it would relocate operations to Mexico, and even more lost jobs when a Rexnord plant made a similar move in 2017.

Local 1999 President Robert James says the union is supporting Hogsett because the mayor supported them at the time.

“He’s always there, when something comes up or if we need him. He’s just always made himself available,” James says.

Hogsett’s office created a $1.2 million fund, with money revoked from Carrier, to assist laid-off workers one year after the Carrier announcement.

The Carrier story also became a key talking point of Donald Trump's campaign for president, and after a promise to save jobs was only partially fulfilled, some Trump supporters in Local 1999 were disillusioned with the candidate.