NEW YORK - Broadway stagehands voted unanimously Sunday to give their union the authority to call a strike against theater producers - further increasing tension in their stalled labor negotiations.

The vote does not mean there will be a strike - that would need the approval of the Local One's parent organization.

The decision was made by approximately 1,000 union members, who also voted to add $1 million from the union's general fund to its $4.1 million emergency defense fund “specifically to aid other theatrical unions affected by a work stoppage,” James J. Claffey Jr., Local One president, said Sunday.

The union has been meeting since this summer with the League of American Theatres and Producers in an effort to reach an agreement. Earlier this month, the League presented what it said was its final offer and announced it would implement some portions of that offer on Monday. The two sides have not officially negotiated since then.

The producers have been seeking more flexibility in the number of stagehands hired as well as the number of hours they work. The union wants to preserve jobs.

A strike would affect most but not all of the theaters on Broadway.

This coming week, though, shows are scheduled to go on as usual.

As a precaution, union members also approved a third motion, giving executive board the authority to call for a work stoppage over the implementation of new League work rules.

“The membership says it will work under implemented rules because we have a public to think about and we have other unions to think about,” Claffey said. “We'll see if the League of American Theatres and Producers invites us to come to the table and make a deal. We are trying to exhaust every single measure in trying to make a deal. That's our priority.”

“Today's strike authorization vote is a typical part of the bargaining process with Local One,” said Charlotte St. Martin, the League's executive director.

And time could be running out for meaningful negotiations.

As Claffey put it: “No work in December without a deal.

“We are giving them (the League) enough time to try to make a deal. It's not beneficial to the membership of Local One to go into December without a deal,” he said. “We are prepared to bargain now.”

“As it has done twice during the two most recent negotiations, Local One has, once again, threatened to strike during the busy holiday season when the harm would be most severe,” St. Martin countered.

A walkout would not only hurt theatergoers, Martin said, but “hardworking waiters, cab drivers, hotel workers and others who rely on the industry to make a living, the city's economy, and most of all, the actors, musicians and other employees of Broadway.”

December leading up to Christmas and New Year's Eve is a lucrative time for Broadway - many shows sell out - and there will be increased pressure on the producers to resolve the negotiations before those popular holiday performances arrive.