Members of American Airlines' mechanics union rejected a contract proposal and authorised union leaders to call a strike, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) said. The union said on its website late on Tuesday that two American Airlines work groups represented by the TWU - the mechanics and the stock clerks - voted down a provisional pay deal.
A third bargaining unit - the technical specialists - approved their deal. American's parent, AMR, restructured itself in 2003 with help from labour groups that made concessions to keep the airline in business. The company reorganised out of bankruptcy, while several of its peers like United Airlines parent UAL Corp did so under court protection and won deeper cuts from their workers.