(Buffalo, NY WBEN) The strike by the Communication Workers of America at Mercy Hospital continues this Sunday morning. Some 25-hundred nurses and health care workers are affected.
As of late Saturday night Catholic Health has issued a statement saying they have communicated with the Unions through the Federal mediators and given the Union additional time to review its last proposal.
The hospital says it stand firm on their proposals, which would add $33 million in wages and benefits to the existing contract and would invest an additional $20 million to address staffing challenges.
Earlier story:
Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - About 200 patients are inside Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, about a two-thirds facility capacity, as hundreds of nurses and health care workers represented by the Communication Workers of America enter the second full day of a strike against the hospital operator, Catholic Health.
Among the issues that led the CWA to walk away from the negotiating table and begin a strike by a work force of about 2,200 nurses and health care workers is compensation, staffing and health insurance.
With noisy picket lines in place, hospital administration has shifted its focus on ensuring care for the inpatients inside Mercy Hospital and continuing operations in the emergency department, which saw about 50 patients come through the doors Friday.
Catholic Health contracted with Michigan-based staffing agency Huffmaster to provide replacement workers during the walkout.
"We want to get back to the table," stated Catholic health CEO Mark Sullivan during a Friday afternoon briefing. Sullivan noted their initial efforts following the start of the strike by CWA Local 1133 needed to be on patient care inside the facility. Sullivan told reporters the latest proposal from the hospital provided workers with wage increases of anywhere from 2.5 to 30 percent and addressed other issues such as staffing and health insurance.
CWA area leader Debora Hayes and 1133 representatives answered the Catholic Health update with a noisy rally late Friday, continuing to emphasize their major sticking points had not been adequately addressed.
Hayes said Catholic Health was refusing to commit to adequate staffing levels. "We've made it very clear that staffing and bad working conditions are concern No. 1," she said.
Union workers had support from area elected leaders on the picket line Friday, with appearances from Buffalo Major Byron Brown as well as New York State Senator Tim Kennedy and others.
