And the vote is expected to weigh heavily in the Milwaukee-based company's decision whether to stay in York.

Contract negotiations are under way between the company and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 175, which represents about 2,100 workers at the Springettsbury Township plant. The workers' three-year contract expires Feb. 1.

The union members, in order to ratify the contract, would need to approve it by a simple majority when the Dec. 2 vote is held, said Frank Larkin, a spokesman for the union's national.

Details of the contract won't be released until members have a chance to review and ask questions, he said.

The company is studying whether to relocate the York plant, saying it's inefficient in both its use of facilities and its use of the workforce. The company has said a restructuring of the facility and the labor rules would be necessary to keep the plant open.

Viable: Earlier this month, the company announced that a joint team of union leadership and company management has agreed on a "viable restructuring plan" for the plant. But the company said the union's support of the plan is critical, and the contract must reflect the plan.

The details of the plan were not made public.

The company has said it will announce its decision after the contract is passed, or between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31.

It has narrowed its relocation possibilities to three cities: Shelbyville, Ind., Shelbyville, Ky., or Murfreesboro, Tenn.

--Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436 or ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com.