JOHNSTOWN, Penn. -- Along the Conemaugh River in this Western Pennsylvania city stands a proud holdout from a once thriving steel industry. Johnstown Wire Technologies, Inc. began operations in 1911 as the Johnstown Wire Mill, built by the Cambria Steel Company. On July 30, over a century later, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, made a visit to this unionized mill.

This proud city was a stop on the initial Clinton/Kaine bus tour following the Democratic National Convention. This tour is a crucial one for the campaign. The rust belt region has been hard hit in recent decades and many folks in these parts feel they have been left behind by the economic recovery.

Descendants of immigrants who arrived in Johnstown in the 19th century from places such as Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, and Poland can still watch the local short line, the Conemaugh & Black Lick Railroad, move railcars around the local plant. According to its website, Johnstown Wire Technologies is the largest independent "producer of value added carbon and alloy wire in North America." Those jobs of "adding value" are good-paying unionized work. The neighborhood surrounding this local mill is filled with churches, ethnic clubs, and modest houses, which once sheltered the hard working families who helped put Johnstown on the map. This is a region of dedicated folks who have endured three major floods and crippling economic downturns, but keep moving forward.

Not every story is as positive as Johnstown's wire mill. Throughout Western Pennsylvania are remnants of once bustling factories. With the loss of jobs has come the loss of population, which means less registered voters. Redistricting by political factions unsympathetic to unionized workers has also occurred following population shifts. These realities have transformed once thriving Democratic strongholds into the toss up category.

Clinton and Kaine shared with their plans to create more good paying jobs with the workers inside the plant. As Kaine took the podium, he thanked United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard for attending the rally. Kaine acknowledged the importance of public investment in infrastructure as a win-win for business and labor. He said, "We'll put workers first, we'll put their wages first, we'll put their families first ... and we need to do something that has a direct tie to Johnstown Wire's business which is invest in infrastructure."

As he introduced Clinton to the crowd, he said, "Johnstown, we've got a 'You're hired' president in Hillary Clinton!"

Clinton praised the local company where business and labor work together. She said, "We are visiting places that prove what Americans can do. We are the most productive, competitive workers in the world."

Clinton praised President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for their efforts to rescue the American economy following the Great Recession. Clinton forcefully said as the crowd applauded, "...over the opposition of the Republican Party, they saved the American auto industry which is a big customer of this plant."

Infrastructure is an important goal in the campaign platform and Clinton reiterated her plans to invest in bridges and highways. Clinton spoke of her support for a National Infrastructure Bank so investments can be made every year regardless of congressional whims.

Clinton also supports investments in manufacturing, pointing out a large order Johnstown Wire Technologies recently had for Bangladesh. She said she especially wants to create jobs in places that have been left out and left behind.

"Anyone willing to work hard should be able to find a job that pays well enough to support a family," she said.

A big round of applause came as Clinton announced, "We have to be serious in defending American workers. That means we've got to defend the right to organize and bargain collectively which helped to build the American middle class in the first place. That's why I love coming to plants like this that work, business and labor together."

Clinton compared this to her opponent Trump's practice of hiring union busting firms that break up attempts at organizing. She proclaimed her support of worker's unions, saying, "Right-to-Work is wrong for America!"

Clinton and Kaine will spend much time in Pennsylvania and Ohio during this campaign. Many towns in the region have endured difficult transitions in changing times.

Although cities like Johnstown have traditionally supported Democrats in the past, many of these voters' concerns go beyond economic issues. Changing social times have created difficult transitions too with some socially conservative voters, which seems to be a current that the Republican nominee has tapped into.

Clinton concluded, "I know that we've got to fight for every single vote and I'm ready to do that. That's why we're on this bus tour because we want you to know the differences. We want you to understand what we're proposing and why we think it will work."

Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP