Mechanics at Northwest Airlines have called for a vote to authorize a strike, citing what their union said was a lack of flexibility on the part of the carrier in contract talks.
The walkout threat was the latest sign of labor unrest at leading US airlines, which have infuriated employees by seeking repeated wage and benefit cuts in a bid to make up for record fuel costs that have pushed them deep into the red.
The members will have until July 19 to cast their votes.
Northwest is seeking USD$1.1 billion in annual labor concessions from its unions, without which analysts have warned it could be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors.
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association said Northwest has asked its members to provide USD$176 million of that total.
"Northwest is working with AMFA and all of its unions to reach consensual agreements that provide wage and benefit levels that are fair to employees and that will allow Northwest to be competitive with other airlines," the carrier said in a statement.
Government mediators sent Northwest and the mechanics' union back to the negotiating table earlier this month after the airline sought to declare an impasse in the talks.
The AMFA previously said Northwest was seeking temporary mechanics to hire in the event of a strike.
Northwest has proposed firing 2,031, or nearly half of its mechanics, and is seeking wage cuts of 25 to 26 percent, AMFA has reported.
"You can't have successful negotiations when only one party is willing to negotiate," AMFA National Director O.V. Delle-Femine said in a statement, adding that Northwest had rejected what he called a generous mechanics proposal that would have saved more than USD$140 million a year.
"These developments leave us little choice but to prepare for a strike," he said in a letter sent with strike ballots to union members.
Northwest, however, said the most recent AMFA proposal is far short of the savings the airline needs, adding that the proposed two years of wage reductions amounts to "temporary labor savings."
"Our analysis of AMFA's proposal indicates actual potential cost reductions of only USD$87 million, less than half of the required savings for us to achieve our overall target of USD$1.1 billion," Northwest said. "The failure to achieve the needed USD$176 million from AMFA will leave the airline at risk."
Mechanics, flight attendants and pilots have been feeling the squeeze as legacy airlines, caught between record fuel prices and competition from low-cost rivals, have asked them to bear the brunt of cost savings.
Northwest is also seeking replacement flight attendants in case those employees opt to strike as part of what the airline has called a "contingency plan."
