Workers on Sunday rejected a new contract that would have guaranteed a $225 million expansion at Timken Co.’s Faircrest steel plant in Canton.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The United Steelworkers union in Canton has rejected a new contract with industrial supplier Timken Co. that would have guaranteed a $225 million expansion of that company’s Faircrest steel plant.

Calls to the union were not immediately returned this morning, but the USW Local 1123′s voicemail confirmed that workers rejected the deal by a vote of 608-917.

Reached last month, the new contract would have offered signing bonuses and accelerated scheduled pay increases and would have run through 2017. The union’s contract with the company expires next year. Timken officials have said the plant expansion was not expected to create a significant number of new jobs, but it would have offered more job security to those already working there.

In a written statement, Timken said it was evaluating its next steps.

“Many parts of this company are growing and expanding around the world,” Timken Steel Business President Salvatore J. Miraglia said. The company’s statement said it would consider expansions in other parts of the world.

“We are disappointed in this outcome because the contract was a necessary step before our commitment to invest $225 million in steel operations in Canton,” Miraglia said in the statement.

Last month, the state offered $19.5 million in tax breaks to Timken to help fund the project. Timken agreed to keep employment levels steady for at least 18 years.



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