BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – More than 2,200 nurses, technicians, and other staff are striking at Mercy Hospital on Friday following an end in negotiations between Catholic Health and the union representing the nurses and other staff at the hospital.
Wages, staffing ratios, and hospital resources remain among the key points of contention between the union and hospital system.
"We want the strike to be over," said Catholic Health CEO Mark Sullivan in an early morning news briefing heard LIVE on WBEN. "We remain steadfast," said Sullivan and he adds he would welcome additional talks after the union left the bargaining table during the overnight hours.
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Negotiating discussions were underway from 9 a.m. Thursday until about 3:30 a.m. Friday when it became clear an agreement could not be reached.
"It's kind of a sad morning," CWA Upstate Director Debbie Hayes said in a briefing before dawn outside Mercy Hospital as workers were on a strike line behind her. "We are out here for as long as it takes," said Hayes who describes some fruitful discussions over the past few days as "too little too late."
Catholic Health proposed a more than 4% wage increase for nurses at Mercy Hospital. Sullivan said this raise allows the nurses there to be more financially competitive in the reason, though that remains one point of contention among the union.
"It doesn't even bring us near the hospitals in the area," CWA Local 1133 President Jackie Ettipio said. "We're one of the lowest paid hospitals and we have the highest accuity. Other hospitals send our patients to us because we are trained to do so much."
Catholic Health also proposed a 10% increase in staffing at the hospital. Ettipio said there needs to be an increase in staffing and claimed there has been "casualties" because there are too many patients dedicated to one nurse.
The CWA released a letter to the community early Friday, stating; “Our hospital, and the hospitals throughout the Catholic Health System, are dangerously understaffed. Every day, we are terrified of needless patient deaths in our hospital because we are stretched so thin. We have bargained for months to achieve a contract agreement that will allow us to do our jobs properly, but Catholic Health stubbornly refuses to agree to iron-clad safe staffing levels that will ensure your safety. We have concluded that only a strike will make Catholic Health understand that we must have guaranteed increased staff and improved compensation if we hope to provide the quality of care our community deserves.” Complete letter available here.
The strike is expected to go through the weekend because Ettipio said the negotiations would continue on Monday.