Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Striking health care workers outside Mercy Hospital in Buffalo claim they are literally one digit away from coming to agreement with Catholic Health and ending a lengthy walkout that is now in its fifth week.
"We were one piece of paper away from reaching an agreement," said CWA's Deborah Hayes outside the hospital late Monday. "It was in Catholic Health's hands to get it done."
Hayes was referencing lengthy weekend negotiations that ended up centering on staffing issues and broke down in the early morning hours Sunday.
"They walked away," said Hayes and nothing has changed since 6am Sunday and no bargain sessions are scheduled to her knowledge.
Hayes says the final piece of the puzzle in the disagreement is over staffing. "Staffing is it," she says. Other than the staffing ratio, "We have an agreement in principle," stated Hayes.
The CWA says Catholic Health is proposing a worker to patient ratio of one to five while they are seeking one to four.
"I think if they come to one to four, this ends," Hayes told WBEN outside the hospital.
Catholic Health stated Sunday they have among the most progressive staffing proposals in the state and announced they had begun sending out notices of the end of health care coverage for striking workers.
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