BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – The spats continue between the union at Mercy Hospital and Catholic Health as picketers move into day seven of the strike.
Catholic Health CEO Mark Sullivan on Wednesday the strike, and the disruptions it caused through the local hospital network, could have been avoided had the union agreed to the hospital’s “fair” offer last week.
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“With the union engaged back at the table, we’re hopeful we’ll be very close to getting an agreement,” Sullivan said. “We need the union to remain engaged with meaningful dialogue with results-driven conversation so we can reach an agreement with both parties.”
CWA did not hold a formal news briefing Wednesday. Their only communication came via statement from Jennifer Williams, a charge nurse who has worked at Mercy Hospital for 14 years.
“The reason the staffing crisis at Catholic Health is so extreme is because the hospital system kept punting on the concerns we were raising and didn’t take negotiations seriously until the 11th hour,” Williams said in the statement. “Catholic Health got us into this crisis and they have the power to get us out of it, and we will be on strike until we have a fair contract that addresses the deteriorating staffing conditions and ensures we don’t get to this point again. Frontline Catholic Health workers are united in our concerns about staffing and determined to fight until the issue is addressed satisfactorily. Mark Sullivan would know that if he came to talk with us on the picket line or at the bargaining table.”
Sullivan said the hospital’s staffing proposal is the “most progressive and innovative approach to staffing” in the state. The proposal sees an increase of 250 new positions within the bargaining agreement, a 10% increase above the average daily census for nurses, and $20 million in bonus pay for any worker who picks up an extra shift should Catholic Health not have the appropriate staffing levels.
“One in five health care workers, since the pandemic has started, has left health care,” Sullivan said. “This is not a Mercy Hospital staffing crisis. This is not a Catholic Health staffing crisis. This is a national staffing crisis. Health care, overall, is broken.”
The CEO called on government officials to fix the issue and said he is engaging with them on how they should resolve the staffing issue statewide.
Sullivan called on the end of the strike, saying the nurses are the soul of the hospital.
“Let’s get a deal done,” he said. “Let’s get these workers back to work.”