Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union is "Paying it Forward." Everyone over the age of 18, a TVFCU member or not, was given the opportunity to tell us how they would "Pay it Forward" if we gave them $10. After a large turn out, a team of judges was assembled to sift through the videos and select the ten finalists. Now, it is your turn. Review the following videos and then vote for your favorite in the column on the left hand side of this page! Voting will end on November 2nd 2009!

Thank you for voting!

Dan Fischer reports on WBTA this morning that the General Motors powertrain plant in Tonawanda will begin laying off employees starting January 26. Some 340 workers, equal to about 30 percent of the plant's total workforce, will be let go. Reduced production demand has been cited as the reason for the layoffs.

Elsewhere, in Lockport and Hamburg, another 250 workers will be let go in the coming weeks. An article in the Buffalo News this morning reports:

At Delphi Corp.’s Town of Lockport plant, 175 of its 1,540 hourly workers received layoff notices last Friday, said Gordie Fletcher, president of UAW Local 686 Unit 1.

Ford Motor Co.’s stamping plant in Hamburg has 75 of its roughly 800 workers on layoff, and is preparing for a weeklong shutdown in early February, said Charles Gangarossa, president of UAW Local 897.

If "production needs increase," workers could be called back to the plant in Tonawanda, but no one's holding their breath. Forecasts for future auto sales are bleak.

Fletcher said he has “no idea” when the laid-off workers at Delphi will be brought back. “Obviously our hope is that we bring everyone back,” he said. “The current state of the economy is putting a crunch on everybody.”