NEW YORK (Reuters) - The union representing striking Northwest Airlines mechanics decided on Friday to let members vote on the airline's contract offer, which would let only about 500 of the 4,400 union members return to work, the Wall Street Journal reported.

If the terms are accepted in a two-week membership ratification process, the rest would receive four weeks of severance pay, the paper said on Monday.

Members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association went on strike on August 20 after rejecting a contract offer that would have preserved 2,750 union jobs and given up to 26 weeks of severance to the others.

Northwest brought in 1,200 replacement technicians under less generous terms and has managed to keeping flying during the strike. The company also outsourced jobs to third-party vendors, reducing the number of positions it needs to fill.

Last month, AMFA negotiators rejected a proposal that would have kept 1,080 jobs and given up to 16 weeks of severance pay to those who would be laid off. Northwest permanently hired more than 500 replacement mechanics and is on track to reduce its mechanic costs by more than $200 million a year.

The airline, the fourth-largest in the United States by traffic, later amended the terms of employment for the work group, taking away lay-off protection, trimming seniority retention and deciding new hires don't have to join the union or pay union dues.

Last week, Northwest filed papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York asking the judge to void existing labor agreements for all unions but AMFA if workers don't agree voluntarily in the coming weeks to give up benefits worth $900 million a year.

So far only the pilots and salaried and management workers have made initial concessions, but Northwest now wants more from them and is asking for big cuts from the flight attendants, customer-service agents and ramp workers. The company aims to slice $2.5 billion from its annual costs.

Source: Yahoo News