The International Brotherhood of Teamsters that represents maintenance workers including mechanics rejected United Airlines final contract offer, per a Reuters report. Teamsters and United have been discussing a new joint deal for a year and have not reached a new contract for its maintenance staff since 2010 when United merged with Continental Airlines.

Teamsters Seeking Approval for a Strike

According to Teamsters.org, 93 percent of over 9,000 mechanics voted to reject the final offer from United Airlines. General President Jim Hoffa revealed that they will be seeking an approval from the U.S. National Mediation Board to start a strike.

"At a time when United Airlines is incredibly profitable, it is clear that mechanics deserve a better offer from the company," Hoffa said. He added that United has become a very profitable airline because of its workers and the company should take characteristics like dedication, passion and professionalism into account during their negotiations. Hoffa also said that Teamsters is looking for the best contract deal possible for all maintenance workers for United.

Jerry Glass of F&H Solutions Group told Reuters that the National Mediation Board has the possibility to reject Teamsters' request to strike. However, if it goes in favor of the union, United Airlines and Teamsters will have only 30 days to reach a new contract agreement before the board or even the Congress intervenes to avoid a strike.

The report also noted that it will take a while before the National Mediation Board permits the union to have a legal strike. Also, it's not all bad news for United Airline workers.

United, PAFCA Tentatively Agrees on Contract Extension

The Chicago-based airline announced on their official website that it has reached a "tentative agreement" with the Professional Airline Flight Control Association (PAFCA) to extend contracts of about 420 United dispatchers. The tentative contract extension agreement will extend the current contract of dispatchers until the end of 2021.

"Our dispatchers do a superb job of keeping our passengers and crews safe and keeping our operations reliable, and I'm glad we were able to reach this tentative agreement within a short period of negotiations. I want to thank all of the company and union negotiators for working side-by-side to reach this positive outcome," United CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement. However, the agreement still needs to be approved by United's dispatchers.

United recently agreed to a contract extension to its pilots, a year before their current deal expires and are engaged in negations with the Association of Flight Attendants. The company is also opening negotiations with the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers that represents fleet technical instructors, load planners, storekeepers and ramp and passenger-service agents.