BANGOR (AP) – Unionized nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor have begun voting on whether to accept what the hospital calls its final contract offer.

Balloting by 870 registered nurses represented by the Maine State Nurses Association will continue today, with results to be announced tonight.

After their three-year contract expired, nurses issued a 10-day strike notice Monday, but withdrew it the following day when the two sides entered an emergency bargaining session with a federal mediator. The union won’t say if rejection of the contract would automatically lead to another strike notice.

The key issue is the makeup of a “professional practice committee” that would give direct-care nurses more input into staffing and other issues.