The Screen Actors Guild representing Hollywood actors will send out a ballot in December calling for a strike.
The news comes after four days of talks this weekend between SAG and Hollywood producers ended without any resolution.
SAG president Alan Rosenberg asked members to give the guild the authority to call a strike "only if it becomes absolutely necessary."
That could set the stage for a strike as early as January, unless negotiations resume with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. SAG has been without a contract since June.
Rosenberg said the strike authorization is needed to protect "the art of acting" as new media platforms emerge.
"Our ability to make our livings as professional actors for decades to come is at stake," he said in an e-mail to members. "New media is not an 'experiment' as the employers want you to think. It's their future, and it's our future."
SAG has asked for an improvement in compensation for electronic rights, including residuals for DVDs.
SAG wants a better deal than the Writers Guild, which struck over the issue last year, the directors, crew members and competing actors' union AFTRA.
The producers have issued a press release saying SAG does not deserve higher compensation for electronic rights than other workers.
It is unrealistic to make these kinds of demands or suggest a strike in the midst of an economic downturn, AMPTP said.
