'Party Down South' Cast -- CMT Plays Hardball ... If You Wanna Walk, There's The Door

The hard-drinking, hard-partying rednecks of "Party Down South" are a dime a dozen as far as CMT is concerned ... because the network is prepared to cut some of 'em loose if they can't agree on new contracts.

TMZ broke the story ... cast members are holding out for raises before Season 2 starts shooting. Right now they're only pulling down $500 per episode.

Sources close to the show tell us CMT had a conference call last Friday with the cast and their newly hired managers -- and one of the stars, Mattie Breaux, went off ... bitching about salaries, and a plan to shoot seasons 2 and 3 back-to-back.

We're told Mattie eventually hung up, but producers were unfazed -- and are now saying if Mattie wants to quit ... they won't stop her.

We've also learned the cast will get $1000 each to shoot a reunion episode next week ... and they're hoping the new contracts are signed by then.

Now, here's why we're all pulling for Tiffany to get a rise raise ...