AUBURN - Workers from TRW Automotive have voted down a second contract proposal designed to save $3 million over three years through union concessions.

The vote moves the workers a step closer to a strike, though one can still be avoided if the union and management reach an agreement before the midnight deadline on Thursday.

Members from Local 192C of the International Chemical Workers Union Council voted 100-75 on Monday against the three-year contract.

The deal proposed a smaller pay cut - 93 cents an hour instead of $1.35 an hour - than the first contract, which union members rejected by a much larger margin.

But the new proposal also included cuts in holiday and vacation time and trimmed health benefits, union officials said after the vote.

Local president Sue Parker said after the ballots were counted that union leadership will contact management and try to continue negotiations.

If management does not want to come back to the table, the union will try and work through a mediator.

If Thursday's deadline comes and goes, the company could agree to extend the current contract while negotiations continue or the workers could strike.

There is still some time, though Parker said most TRW workers can't remember the last time a contract ratification came this close.

“We're right down to the wire,” she said. “It's uncharted territory.”

TRW spokesperson John Wilkerson said Monday evening that it is unfortunate the contract was not ratified this time. However, he said the company is still hopeful both parties can still work together.

“I think the process now is trying to go back to the bargaining table and finding an agreement that we can be successful with,” Wilkerson said.

But he added the company is looking in all of this to maintain the long-term viability of the plant, remain competitive and win new business.

“I think there was some progress made,” Wilkerson said in regards to the slimmer margin of this defeat compared to last month's.

“We'll go back and we'll bargain in good faith, and look forward to coming up with a contract,” he said.

The union rejected the first proposed contract in last month by a 129-11 vote. Employees at the time expressed frustration over being asked to agree to what they considered steep concessions while company executives were receiving large bonuses. According to SEC documents, TRW's board of directors compensation committee agreed to pay $9.9 million in bonuses to executives over the next three years.

TRW manufactures keyless entry systems and tire pressure monitors at its Aurelius plant. The company has been hit hard by the economic downturn, posting a net loss of $779 million last year. The company also laid off approximately 9,900 workers last year, representing 13 percent of its work force

TRW owes $4.28 billion in contract obligations and leases and has not received any of the tens of billions of dollars in recent bailouts handed out to the auto industry by the federal government.

Union members gathered in the afternoon at St. Luke's church in Auburn to wait for the ballots to be counted. Cheers were audible from outside the building when the contract was defeated. Some of those in attendance wore shirts with the words “Will strike” on the front.

TRW worker Helen Gronan said after the meeting that she voted against the proposal. The union has made a number of concessions over the years, Gronan said and they recently offered to freeze wages. But when company executives are still getting bonuses and you're making $13 an hour, she said, it's hard to give up pay and benefits.

It's up to TRW to come back with a reasonable offer, the workers can only give up so much, Gronan said.

“The economy is bad, we understand that,” Gronan said. “But give us a break, too.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.