The strike against Northwest Airlines by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association continues into the new year, after members rejected an agreement that would have ended their 19-week-old walkout.

"The ratification vote for the recent contract proposal was rejected by a 56 percent margin," said AMFA Local 33 President Ted Ludwig. "Our members have spoken loud and clear to the leadership and AMFA will remain on strike at Northwest Airlines."

The deal would not have restored the jobs of the striking mechanics, cleaners and custodians. Instead, strikers would have been placed on a recall list to fill future vacancies among the 880 jobs that remain in their bargaining unit. Those jobs are now held by strikebreakers who, legally, remain represented by AMFA.

The strikers would have been placed on layoff status, making them eligible for four weeks of layoff pay from the airline and up to six months of unemployment benefits from the state. In Minnesota, mechanics have been denied unemployment pay during the strike, though an administrative law judge said lower-paid cleaners and custodians do qualify for the benefits.

The agreement was the first proposal members have voted on. AMFA, which represented 4,427 Northwest workers at the time, struck Aug. 19 after Northwest implemented terms that eventually eliminated 80 percent of their jobs and cut the pay of those who remained by 26 percent.

The strike, however, failed to shut down the airline, which had planned for 18 months to rely on strikebreakers and outsourced maintenance to keep flying.