When the Haskon Aerospace plant in Taunton, Mass. shut down in October 100 workers lost their jobs. Many had worked at the facility for decades, making seals and gaskets for aircraft.

“It’s been my livelihood,” said Anita Boulter, who says she has worked at the plant for 37 years. “I always felt I made a good living working and I like my job.”

City leaders are considering an unusual measure to save the plant, which has been a staple in the community for 80 years, operating under the umbrellas of numerous corporate entities over the decades.

The Taunton City Council is exploring the possibility of exercising the power of eminent domain to take the machinery away from the parent company, Bellevue, Wash. based Esterline. The city would pay a fair price to prevent the equipment from being sold at an auction scheduled for December 14.

Former Haskon workers hope to raise the capital to buy it and run an employee owned operation or find a new corporation to take over the business.

“It’s certainly outside of the box so there were a lot of concerns,” said Taunton City Council member Ryan Colton.

When the government exercises the power of eminent domain it is most often used to clear the way for highways, railways or public utilities but property is also taken for public use or economic development.

“What we’d be doing here is making the argument that keeping these jobs here in Taunton serves a public purpose here in our city,” said Colton.

Esterline officials say they regret the plant closure but have been forced to take the action due to a weak economy, overcapacity in the industry and reduced demand for aircraft seals. They plan to consolidate three facilities into a single plant located in Brea, Calif.

Esterline first notified employees of the impending closure last November and corporate leaders say they welcome former workers to bid on the equipment in a fair and public auction, pointing out the company has a fiduciary duty to shareholders to obtain the best value for all assets.

Jim Sweeney, the Chief Operating Officer of Kirkhill-TA, the Esterline subsidiary that oversaw the Taunton plant, argues eminent domain does not apply in this case, writing:

“Eminent domain applies to the taking of real property, i.e., land and or buildings, for use in public purposes such as constructing roads or parks. In the Haskon situation the U.E. (United Electrical Workers Union) is asking the city to take over personal property (manufacturing equipment) for the private purpose of running a business.”

Sweeney points out other high ranking Taunton officials have expressed doubts that the city has the authority to apply eminent domain to Haskon property but union officials have not given up hope and argue the plant is still viable if the equipment can be kept intact and in the community.

“The ability of this company just to simply take all the presses and equipment and auction them off for basically a little bit more than scrap, level and destroy some really good jobs in this community, for me is a travesty,” said Peter Knowlton, President of the Northeast Region of the United Electrical Workers.

City leaders have called on the company to postpone the auction which company officials say they are considering. Meanwhile, union officials are planning a protest to block the entrance of the shuttered building aiming to buy themselves more time to create a business model and find potential investors.