Screen Actors Guild members have voted to give union leaders authorization to call a strike during negotiations with basic cable producers. During the last week, SAG held negotiation caucuses with members in five cities-San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, New York and Hollywood-where votes were taken to grant authorization for a strike. Exact vote tallies were not released.

“We will continue to fight for a fair contract,” SAG President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement. “And, as is always the case, we hope to avoid any work interruption in pursuit of that equitable deal. … The Guild’s negotiating team, both members and staff alike, will meet with producers with a renewed sense of pride and purpose.”

With a news blackout in effect, neither side would comment.

If a strike is called, SAG will force a work stoppage on shows such as “The Shield,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “The Closer.” SAG last held a strike in 2000, in a walkout against the advertising industry.