(Reuters) -Journalists at the LA Times voted to authorize their union to call for an open-ended strike against the media company, which they say is failing to offer a fair contract amid years of extended negotiations and layoffs, the newspaper's guild said on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Times Guild – representing reporters, editors, designers, photographers and other employees – voted this week to back a strike authorization, with 85% of members supporting the move.

The vote gives the guild's unit council and bargaining team the option to call a strike, though no date has been set.

LA Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Negotiations with management have dragged on for over three years without resolution, the guild said, adding that during that period, the newspaper has endured multiple rounds of layoffs and buyouts, leaving the union with slightly more than 200 members, down from about 450 in 2022.

"The newsroom's remaining journalists have gone four years without a cost-of-living increase, even as inflation pushed the cost of food, rent, healthcare and other essentials steadily upward," the guild said in a statement.

Union leaders said they are seeking to preserve existing layoff protections and safeguards against work outsourcing to third-party companies and non-union labor.

LA Times journalists formed the union in early 2018, when the newsroom was owned by Tronc, now known as Tribune Publishing.

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)