By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Union mechanics at car dealerships will vote on a new contract proposal today (Thu.).
The mechanics have been on strike for a month and a half.
The walkout has shut down service and parts departments of most new-car dealerships on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. Their sales operations are unaffected.
About 1,800 members of the Teamsters and Machinists unions have been on strike for 46 days after rejecting separate contract offers.
The Teamsters will vote at 1:00 p.m. Thursday; five hours after Machinists vote on a separate offer made Tuesday by the same dealerships.
Both sides need to approve the three-year contracts to effectively end the strike, because union members won't cross picket lines if the other union remains on strike.