Jetlife, sorry you were turned down. If it's anything like it was back in 2008 (and it sounds like some things are, and some things are not), I would re-apply in 6 months.

There are a lot of things going on due to contract negotiations, but I have a hard time believing they would waste anyones time (especially theirs) by calling you in knowing they were going to turn you down. Everyone is busy, and I'm sure they would love to hire everyone that came in the door to cut down on the number of people that they have to interview.

Take an honest look at yourself as a candidate. Are you missing something that others had, did you not present yourself well, were you able to come up with quality stories showing how you're different? If it wasn't something that you could improve upon, then maybe there was something about you that didn't "click" with the interviewer....which sucks, but there isn't anything you can do about that.