The International Association of Machinists announced yesterday that it has scheduled a strike vote for December 13 if the 15,000 mechanics and other employees it represents at United Airlines are still without a contract at that time. Negotiations for the mechanics---who have been without a contract for two years, and have not had a raise since 1994---were interrupted by the terrorist attacks of September 11, and the resulting turmoil in the airline industry. President Bush has announced that if the two sides have not reached an agreement by the end of the thirty-day cooling off period on December 21, he will extend the ban on strikes by the maximum of sixty-days, to avoid travel problems during the holiday season.
See "UNITED AIRLINES: Mechanics union sets a Dec. 13 vote on strike", Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, December 5, 2001