BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Ask any of the picketers in front of Mercy Hospital on Tuesday about their experiences with short staffing, and you'll hear about the challenges they say it creates.
Kathy Kelly's been a nurse for 32 years. She says she remembers her most stressful day well.
"On January 1 of this year, I was working, and I actually suffered a heart attack on the unit," said Kelly. "I think it was the stress of caring for five patients. We're supposed to have four - I had five. Most of them were open heart patients."
Safe staffing was one of the demands Kelly and hundreds of her colleagues made of Catholic Health during a march and rally outside Mercy Hospital. The other: a boost to wages they say are far less at Mercy, Kenmore Mercy, and St. Joseph's than at Western New York hospitals run by other organizations.
"It's our time to stand up and help you, and we're gonna do whatever it takes," said state Sen. Timothy Kennedy, D-Buffalo, one of the elected officials to show support for the group in person.
Union officials say workers are prepared to do the same. Ninety-six percent of CWA members recently voted to authorize a strike if necessary.
"There is an agreement here to be reached, and we are committed to doing that, but our members have absolutely spoken and if we have resistance in getting that agreement, then they are willing to walk the line," said CWA Upstate NY Area Director Debora Hayes.
Catholic Health said in a statement it's bargained in good faith with the union for five months and made proposals including wage increases and increasing the nursing staff at Mercy by 110 positions.
The union says CHS has $360 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand, but the statement reads in part:
"The CWA has hindered the progress of negotiations by demanding more than $80 million in economic changes per year, with little room for movement. With revenues of $3 million in 2015, Mercy Hospital cannot sustain an unrealistic proposal like this."
Negotiations are scheduled to continue next week.