In a letter this week to his members, Transport Workers Union local president Bob Zimmerman is talking "impasse" in contract talks with American Airlines.

Zimmerman, who heads Local 565 which represents mechanics and related workers at Dallas/Fort Worth, is unhappy at the airline's latest contract offer and said he thinks contract talks are at an impasse. If the National Mediation Board agrees, the union and airline would be allowed to engage in "self-help" after a 30-day, cooling-off period.

"An impasse is not something I take lightly, as it could very well end in a strike or some other type of self help," Zimmerman wrote. "But at this point in our careers we may have to choose between continuing down the path of career destruction, or to take a stand."

Bob Owens, president of TWU Local 562 in New York, warned his members Jan. 18 that "we must all do that is necessary to prepare for a strike,whether it's our own or one of the other Unions on the property."