STATE COLLEGE — Union employees at Mount Nittany Medical Center have overwhelmingly authorized a strike if contract negotiations fail to produce a new labor agreement, according to SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania.

The union announced that 99% of members who voted Thursday authorized the bargaining committee to issue a strike notice if necessary. Negotiators are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Monday.

The workers’ contract expired July 1. Under federal law, the union would be required to provide the hospital with a 10-day notice before any strike could begin.

Union officials said a strike remains a last resort and expressed hope that an agreement can be reached.

“All of us as a team make award-winning care possible, and this vote makes it pretty clear that 2% wage increases don’t cut it,” said Jadyn Maske, an environmental services aide and member of the union’s negotiating committee. “We’re hopeful that next week we can get to a fair contract agreement that invests in safety, staffing and all of us.”

According to the union, negotiations began April 29 and involve approximately 950 employees represented by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, including registered nurses, technicians, maintenance workers, pharmacists, certified nurse aides, environmental services employees and dietary aides.

The union said members are seeking increased wages and investments in staffing, arguing pay has not kept pace with the cost of living in Centre County.

SEIU also contended that Mount Nittany has the financial resources to increase employee compensation, citing hospital financial data that it said ranks the medical center among the state’s most profitable acute care hospitals.

Hospital officials had not responded to the union’s announcement at the time of the release.