BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Nurses, tech employees, and other personnel at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo on Tuesday highlighted their frustrations with the ongoing labor negotiations between the union and Catholic Health.
The two sides have not reached an agreement on matters related to wages, staffing, and other resources related to the hospital. As a result, the Communications Workers of America Local 1133 on Monday night gave the hospital a 10-day notice of its intent to strike.
The strike could begin October 1 at 6 a.m.
"This was an extraordinarily difficult decision for us to make, but Catholic Health has really made it impossible for us at this point for members to provide the patient care they deserve," Debora Hayes, Upstate New York Area Director for CWA said. "Our members overwhelmingly, and I mean overwhelmingly (believe) that only a strike will force management to do what is necessary to provide the necessary resources to provide adequate patient care at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo."
The union on Monday released results of an internal survey. It concludes that 70% of employees who responded say patients are being neglected or suffering needlessly because of staffing shortages. It also said 10% of patients are receiving the quality of care they need. It also cites complaints of staffing shortages, low pay, and poor working conditions.
"It is inconceivable that the union would lead essential healthcare workers on strike in the midst of an ongoing pandemic," Eddie Bratko, President of Mercy Hospital, said in a statement. "I want to assure our community that our top priority is the welfare and safety of our patients, and our hospital will remain open and operational during a strike to continue providing safe, high quality care."
CWA Local 1133 represents approximately 2,500 employees ranging from nurses to technologists and clerical staff. Jackie Ettipio, a nurse at the hospital and president of the local union, called Catholic Health's contract offer unfair and called the lack of resources facing the hospitals "pathetic."
"We're short on urinals, sheets, blankets, wash cloths, thermometers, urine tubes, blood tubes, syringes," Ettipio said. "It's just ridiculous. But despite all of this, our staff still sacrifices their mental and physical health and they come in daily. They do what they can to help the people but they are literally getting beaten down. We're pretty much to the point where we can't continue like this."
Ettipio said the issues have been facing the hospital since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, why do they want to strike now when the pandemic is ongoing?
"We're at the point where too many lives are in danger," Ettipio said. "It's literally a crisis situation. We don't want to strike, but it's like giving your son who's a drug addict money day after day and he keeps getting worse, not better. It increases his habit to the point where you're killing him. That's virtually where we are. We're at the point where we kept taking it and taking it. This has gone on way before COVID. COVID accentuated it. When COVID came, there was absolutely nothing in place to try and fix things. It kept going worse and worse. There's some staggering incompetence out there that refuses to address the fact that it's getting worse."
Catholic Health said they will stay open in the event of a strike. They will contract a professional staffing agency that includes licensed temp nurses and other staff to continue care for the duration of the strike.
"We remain cautiously optimistic we can reach an agreement in the next nine days so we can avert the strike CWA Local 1133 is threatening, a move more than two dozen politicians have said would be a “disaster” given the ongoing pandemic," Catholic Health said in a statement after the union news conference. "To achieve that, both parties must be focused at the table this week, and work collaboratively to find more common or middle ground. Based on our costing, we are nearly $100 million apart. Negotiations are continuing daily. The union has the option to withdraw its 10-day notice before its planned October 1 strike begins."
