YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Almost 90 percent of the Korean Employees Union’s members, representing South Korean workers on U.S. bases, voted to stage a protest Thursday in response to potential work force downsizing, officials confirmed Monday.

Kang In-shik, union president, said 89.4 percent of the 13,000 members voted last week in favor of protesting U.S. Forces Korea on Thursday and protesting the South Korean government on June 3.

The protests, and another upcoming vote on whether to strike, follow U.S. Forces Korea’s announcement that up to 1,000 jobs might be cut because the contribution from the Korean government to maintain U.S. troops here falls short of what USFK says is needed.

In late April, U.S. and South Korean officials initialed a two-year agreement that requires the South Koreans to pay 680.4 billion won (about $680 million) annually. That amount is an 8.9 percent drop from last year’s 746.9 billion won payment.

Kang said the protest is to begin at 4 p.m. — when many employees still are on duty — in front of the war museum. He was unable to provide an estimate on how many employees would attend the protest but said he was under the impression that “a great many” are going to take the day off so attendance won’t conflict with their duties.

USFK officials, contacted Monday, would not comment on how a possible “sick out” by South Korean workers would affect the military community. They also declined to discuss the union members’ decision to protest or whether the base community was being warned to steer clear of any protests.

“It would be inappropriate to comment on the results of a union meeting we did not attend,” USFK spokesman Dave Oten wrote an in e-mail response.