The Airline Mechanics Fratnernal Association will conduct informational picketing Wednesday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, two days before a strike could begin against Northwest Airlines.

The picketing will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, AMFA Local 33 announced on its website.

Meanwhile, negotiations between the union and the airline continued Tuesday at the offices of the National Mediation Board in Washington, D.C. Mediators called the parties to the NMB headquarters Monday in a last effort to avoid a walkout.

A key stumbling block to a settlement is demands by Northwest management to eliminate more than half of the 5,000 mechanics, cleaners and custodians represented by AMFA.

"For Northwest to demand 53 percent job cuts is the most blatant union-busting technique that I can think of," said Ted Ludwig, AMFA Local 33 president. "The company knows that asking over half of our members to vote away their jobs is a sure way to guarantee a strike."

Under the provisions of the federal Railway Labor Act, a walkout could begin anytime after a cooling-off period expires at 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19.