Lordstown welcomes Vice President Joe Biden, locals grateful for auto bailout

LORDSTOWN, Ohio - Lordstown is a small village in Trumball County of about 3700. It probably doubled in size Friday morning when Vice President Joe Biden came to town at the United Auto Workers Local 1714 building.

Many from the nearby GM plant were on-hand wearing their blue shirts that read, "Cruze the USA in your Chevrolet."

Marisol Gonzalez, single mother of two, who has worked at the plant for 17 years is a President Barack Obama supporter. "We are thankful for Mr. Obama for supporting the bailout."

GM announced last week that they will invest $200 million in two plants in Ohio, one in Parma and the other in Lordstown. The Chevy Cruze is made in town and GM said they plan to start making the next generation Cruze, but didn’t give a timetable.

“It affects me because I know I'll have a job for the next six or seven years," Gonzalez said.

"It's not just Lordstown," said Calvin Ball who has lived in village for more than 30 years. “(It’s) The whole surrounding area. Every job produces another job. My job produces a job at Dairy Queen," he said.

The one thing you'll notice about the small community is the number of GM cars that pass by. It seemed not many people were going for a cruise in anything else.

"They are supporting their local economy," said Ester Fultz, who does not drive a GM car. "I have a Toyota, but I'm sure it was made in America.”