Once upon a time, Sergio Santos had time aplenty — to play golf, take camping trips, ski at Incline Village. Now his mountain condo has been sold, the fairways and putting greens are distant memories, and the president of the local chapter of the United Autoworkers in Fremont has been devoting every waking hour to just one thing:

Trying to keep the NUMMI auto plant from shutting down forever.

This week, success seemed more elusive than ever. Toyota said it was determined to close the fabled New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant April 1, cutting adrift its 4,700 employees and tens of thousands of vendors throughout the Bay Area and beyond. That seemed to deal Santos and his fellow members of the UAW Local 2244 a fatal blow.

"With all of Toyota's quality-control problems right now, why abandon a world-class work force that wins awards, and just throw these people out of a job?" he asked. "Some employees have been here as long as 26 years, and building quality cars and trucks is all they've ever known."

Toyota did say it would give $250 million in bonuses to help workers through the transition period. But Santos' bigger battle seemed to be drawing to a close.

Q What's the mood now at NUMMI as the plant approaches shutdown?

A As we get close to March 31, people are feeling the reality starting to sink in. But at the same time, our efficiency rating has gone up six or seven points into the

high 90s, which tells me that these workers are trying to show the company that they've got a quality work force in place here, and it would be a shame to shut this plant down.

There's a lot of uncertainty. But our members are hoping that a delegation heading to Japan this week (Thursday) on our behalf will be able to get an extension at the very least. For now, people are still focused on their work and hopeful that this place can be saved somehow.

Q What would NUMMI's closing mean to the Bay Area's economy?

A With the loss of jobs for nearly 5,000 workers at the plant, along with 50,000 more throughout the state among suppliers and vendors, the closure would mean an economic tsunami for the Bay Area and beyond.

And from janitors to people doing environmental cleaning at night, to people making truck beds in L.A. or seats in Livermore, you'll see families ripped apart, suicides and broken homes. And you'll have a lot of homes lost to foreclosure. A lot of our people have already stopped making payments on their homes because they know they might not be able to pay those mortgages going forward.

Q What has the relationship between NUMMI and the UAW been like over the years?

A It's been quite unique. We've had eight successive contracts without any work stoppage. For example, in 2005 the company came to us in the middle of a contract saying insurance costs were too high, so our members agreed to help offset those costs. We rose to the occasion and ratified a modified contract to modify the insurance plan.

Q How did you end up as the local's president?

A I was first elected president about five years ago. I came up through the ranks after starting at NUMMI in 1991, working on the assembly line. I'm originally from San Leandro, and my grandfather worked in the '50s at an automotive plant where Eastmont Mall now sits. And my dad worked at the Fremont plan in the early '60s, so I'm a third-generation autoworker, one of only a handful at NUMMI today.

Q What else can be done to try and keep the plant open?

A We have a blue-ribbon commission headed by California Treasurer Bill Lockyer and UC-Berkeley professor Harley Shaiken, and their delegation is heading to Japan, giving Toyota reasons why they shouldn't close the plant down. At the very least, they should give us an extension so we'd have time to try to figure things out, even if it comes to the union making concessions to keep it open. We just want Toyota to give us a chance.

Contact Patrick May at 408-920-5689.

SERGIO SANTOS

Age: 46
Birthplace: San Leandro
Position: President of UAW Local 2244
Previous jobs: An assembly-line worker at NUMMI and before that an air-conditioning mechanic
Education: San Jose City College
Family: Fiancee, Marcella Velasco; daughter, Ashley, 22.
Residence: Willow Glen
Other interests: Golf, travel, camping, skiing, riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles, BBQ with the family, "but I"ve had no spare time to do any of that in the past three years."

FIVE THINGS ABOUT SERGIO SANTOS

1. Quit college and took a job to help put his older brother through college.

2. Is a third-generation auto worker.

3. Has traveled to all 50 states.

4. An avid bicyclist, he has often ridden from Willow Glen to Morgan Hill and back.

5. Fell in love at first sight with his fiancee, Marcella, after asking her out of the blue to have coffee. Marcella, a real-estate agent, thought at first he wanted to buy a house, but he soon confessed he was " lost inside her eyes and couldn"t find my way out."