ZELIENOPLE — About 140 Passavant Retirement Community employees voted Thursday to give a warning they may go on strike.

The employees are members of Teamsters Local 538 and have been working for months without a contract, said Betty Fisher, union secretary-treasurer.

The membership voted Thursday at the Zelienople Fire Department station in which they “overwhelmingly” supported giving the notice, Fisher said.

According to the notice, they will vote again to strike if negotiations don’t progress before Oct. 29.

The lack of both communication and progress in negotiations led to Thursday’s vote, Fisher said.

“This is what it’s come to. We hope this will get us to the table,” she said.

The New Haven Court employees’ contract and the Passavant service unit employees’ contract expired in November 2013, and the Passavant Certified Nurse’s Aide employees’ contract expired in January 2014.

These contracts include nurse’s aides, housekeeping, maintenance and other jobs. Administrative staff and physical therapists are not included in the union.

The union employees are seeking a contract extension and progress toward a new contract that would include applying the new pay and benefits retroactively to when the old agreements expired, she said.

The employees representing the union said the last time they met with management was Aug. 4. They held a vote on the final contract offer and it was unanimously turned down by the employees.

The most recent offer included an annual bonus check, but no increase in the pay or benefits, Fisher said.

Oct. 29 is the day when Passavant Retirement Community plans to start moving furniture and residents from its Old Main facility into the $70 million Abundant Life Center, said executive director Laura Roy.

The move is expected to take about five days.

When asked about the negotiations, Roy said. “We are continuing to work on getting a contract. Our goal is just as theirs — to successfully get a contract.”

Some of the certified nurse’s aides said they are unhappy with the planned changes in their job descriptions when they move to the New Abundant Life Center.

The plan is for them to become “household coordinators” that would be responsible for cooking, cleaning and caring for households of 17 residents.

“We’re excited about the new building, but what they’re doing is terrible, we need the staff to do it right,” said Roxanne Gwit, a nurse’s aide who has worked at Passavant for 13 years.

Terri Walters, a nurse’s aide who has worked at Passavant for 35 years, said the community is supposed to be centered around caring for residents, but the management has instead made money its top priority.

“They’re trying to pay for this new building on the backs of the residents and employees,” she said.