Members of the Service Employees International Union Local 585 authorized their leadership to call a strike against Westmoreland County, although no date for a work stoppage has been set.
Officials said more than 90 percent of the union's members voted Wednesday in support of a strike. SEIU leaders would not release the number of members who voted or the actual vote totals.
"It was overwhelming," union spokesman Tom Hoffman said of the vote. "We feel there is a window of opportunity, and hopefully there will be a bargaining session."
The vote was conducted throughout the day at St. Bruno Roman Catholic Church in South Greensburg. The union represents more than 1,200 employees at Westmoreland Manor, the courthouse, 911 dispatchers, road crews and sheriff deputies, among others.
Wednesday's vote means union leaders can call for a strike at any time. Hoffman said because such an action affects the county's nursing home, the union would give 10 days notice before workers walk off the job.
The strike authorization means members are firmly behind the union leadership's decision to reject the county's last contract proposal, union officials said.
"This sends a clear message to the commissioners. It shows us the commissioners' proposal is totally unacceptable. The ball is in their court now," said Carrie Morris, a union representative.
The majority of commissioners, though, appear unwilling to change their offer and no negotiations have been scheduled.
"Our offer is on the table. It is what it is, and it's not going to change," said Commissioner P. Scott Conner.
Commissioner Tom Balya suggested the county would return to the bargaining table, although he said it is unlikely there would be any substantial changes made to the county's contract offer.
"We have an offer and they haven't even voted on our offer. We're not going to bargain against ourselves, but we're certainly willing to talk and make them better understand the county's position," Balya said.
Commissioner Tom Ceraso said he wants to meet with union negotiators as soon as possible to see if a settlement can be reached. Ceraso supported a proposal made last month by a state mediator after union leaders rejected the county's offer, which he authored.
But as of Wednesday, Ceraso was the lone commissioner who supported changing the county's offer.
"If there is no movement on the part of the county, then we're obviously looking at a strike. I think that would be a shame," Ceraso said.
The union has been working without a contract since Dec. 31, when its three-year deal with the county expired. Contract talks have bogged down since the end of last month when Balya and Conner rejected the state mediator's proposal, saying it would cost $1.6 million more than the county's offer.
The county previously offered a four-year deal in February that union leadership rejected. The rank-and-file union members never voted on the county offer.
In that proposal, the county offered to raise salaries of most workers by 50 cents an hour in each of the four years of the deal. Courthouse employees who currently work 6 1/2 hours a day would be paid for an additional 30 minutes each day but receive no raises in the first two years of the contract. Nurses at Westmoreland Manor would receive raises totaling $6.25 an hour over the course of the contract.
The county also pitched a free health insurance plan as part of the package.
Union officials maintained the raises are insufficient and adamantly opposed the health insurance component of the offer.
By virtue of its strike authorization, the union is in position to walk off the job for the first time since 1992, when members hit the picket line for one day.
Should a strike come this year, both county officials and union leaders are bracing for a long work stoppage.
