Hollywood writers could walk off the job as early as Monday, following a union meeting in L.A. at which some 3,000 members of the Writers Guild of America voted unanimously for a strike.

But for now, the writers are still at work, waiting for a final decision from the upper ranks of the union. The WGA West board and the WGA East Council are expected to meet today, and it is expected that writers will hit the picket lines on Monday, dropping their pens for the first time in 20 years. Talks broke down on Wednesday between WGA and the AMPTP, which represents film and TV producers in the U.S., with both sides still far apart on the roadblock issue of payment for DVDs and new media.

In a statement, AMPTP president Nicholas Counter said producers were prepared to continue talks through the weekend, though rhetoric is running high on both sides of the divide.

A WGA strike would create a chill in Canada by shutting down U.S.-made series seen here on CTV, Global and other broadcasters, and by pulling would-be service shoots from Vancouver, Toronto and other centers.

The first to go could be late-night talk shows such as CTV’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Late Show with David Letterman, seen here on the OMNIs. (During the last strike, however, Letterman opted to wing it with unscripted shows.) The lack of scripts will then spread to primetime dramas and comedies, and stands to shut down this season’s rookie shows, most of which are still struggling to build an audience. A small number of series, such as Prison Break on Global, have already filmed all or most of their eps for this season, and should continue to air.