Two months after NetJets pilots got a generous five-year deal after months of picketing and creating bad publicity for the private jet firm, labor unrest is starting to brew on a new front.

Two months after NetJets pilots got a generous five-year deal after months of picketing and creating bad publicity for the private jet firm, labor unrest is starting to brew on a new front.

Teamsters members who work in areas such as fueling, catering and dispatching for NetJets are threatening "another serious labor dispute" for the company.

The union said its members are preparing for a strike authorization vote based on "cost-cutting demands and proposals that ... undermine the ability" of workers to perform their jobs.

"The NetJets brand is becoming synonymous with labor problems," Paul Alves, a Teamsters Airline Division representative, said in a statement. "We hope that management changes course before it�s too late.�

The move reignites long-simmering disagreements between the union and management. In December 2014, the Teamsters issued a release decrying what they said were demands for concessions from workers that would be passed along as cost savings to NetJets' wealthy customers. Contract negotiations are set to resume in March.

NetJets, with headquarters at Port Columbus and owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is the world's largest private aviation company. It pioneered the concept of selling timeshare-like fractional ownership in planes that it maintains and operates.

Though it maintains a strong lead over competitors, it faces increased competition from companies offering private air travel through various pay-as-you-go methods that are cheaper than buying a NetJets share.

Just before Christmas, NetJets pilots approved a five-year contract that provides an average pay raise of 28 percent over the duration of the agreement. After working without a contract since mid-2013, the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots stepped up pressure on mangement. They picketed Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha last year, greeted Buffett with pickets on some of his trips and took out full-page ads in The Wall Street Journal.

In June, Adam Johnson replaced Jordan Hansell as NetJets CEO in a management shakeup. The pilots union indicated it was optimistic about the change and inked a deal several months later. In addition to the pay raise, the deal reportedly included a one-time bonus and a continuation of company-paid health-care benefits.

Teamsters representatives said NetJets "demands the right to replace human flight dispatchers with automation and software programs" and has told technicians "that they have to compete against lower-cost mechanics if they want to perform necessary maintenance work on NetJets aircraft," raising what they say are "serious questions about cost-cutting at the expense of employees responsible for the safety of flights."

A NetJets spokeswoman initially provided a short statement saying in part that the company is "committed to reaching a fair and equitable agreement" with Teamsters union members. Several hours later, the spokeswoman switched course and said the company had "no comment at this time."

mrose@dispatch.com