I did search on the Northwest mechanics strike and it was in 2005. Northwest hired replacement mechanics and outsourced maintenance. They trained those mechanics in Arizona. They even hired back striking Northwest mechanics.
A quote from an article on the strike ending after 3 months:
Layoffs at other carriers have swelled the labor pool with experienced mechanics, said Charles Craver, a labor law expert George Washington University.
"The (mechanics) in particular have just had delusions of grandeur," he said. "They think they're irreplaceable, and they're not."
And another:
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association made a huge bet that Northwest would struggle without them and travelers would flee, forcing the airline to offer a better deal. On Day 10, AMFA National Director O.V. Delle-Femine predicted: "In a couple weeks, people are going to see the failure of this airline."
But Northwest followed through on months of public statements that it had lined up enough replacement workers to fly without union mechanics. Every other Northwest union kept working. Although it struggled with late flights in the days before and after the strike, it kept flying.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/...t-strike_x.htm
So, will it benefit AA mechanics to strike? Can they easily be replaced in this year's marketplace?