The New York City nurses strike is now in its second day. 

Nurses say health care benefits and workplace safety are their main reasons for striking, and they are refusing to go back to work until their demands are met. 

Nearly 15,000 nurses from five major privately run hospitals walked off the job Monday, marking the start of the largest nurses strike in the city's history. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) accused the hospital systems of refusing to compromise on issues like pay raises, safe staffing levels, full health care coverage, pensions and workplace protections against violence.

The impacted hospitals are Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West and NewYork-Presbyterian in Manhattan, as well as Montefiore Einstein in the Bronx.   

"I spend more time here at the hospital than I see my family"

The chanting and honking outside Mount Sinai began promptly at 7 a.m. Tuesday as nurses returned to the picket line. 

"This has been my whole life. This is where I've been working," nurse practitioner Joyce Bautista said. 

Bautista told CBS News New York she feels betrayed and hurt by Mount Sinai, where she has spent her entire career since she was intern. 

"I spend more time here at the hospital than I see my family, and it's really sad our health care is being cut. Now we don't even have insurance because we are out on strike," Bautista said. 

"How can you deny people a decent cost of living when you are making millions and millions on our backs? We are the ones providing care, and you are taking the benefits and the profits," nurse Felice Rosen said.

Mount Sinai nurse practitioner Dania Munoz said while she'd rather be bedside with her patients than on the picket line, a big reason they're on strike is for patient safety.

"We all know that nurses never go on strike over salaries. Let's get real. This is about hospital greed," she said.

"We have a serious problem here where we have so many entrances and not enough security guards, not enough weapons detections or systems in place," Mount Sinai nurse Ian Urbina said.

"We want to take care of our patients again, but we need to be respected, we need health care, we needs wages, and we need safe working conditions," Mount Sinai nurse Matt Allen said.

Another nurse said Sunday, just hours before NYSNA decided to go on strike, some Mount Sinai nurses, including two new moms, were "unjustly fired via voicemail."

"Unfortunately, you did not respond to any of my messages or reach out to me in any way, so I do have to terminate you," the voicemail says.

"We will not be bullied by Mount Sinai," one of the fired nurses said.

According to Mount Sinai, the nurses were terminated "for interfering with patient safety by deliberately sabotaging our emergency preparedness drills ahead of NYSNA's strike."

"Their value is not negotiable"

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and state Attorney General Letitia James were among several public officials who joined picketers outside New York-Presbyterian in Washington Heights, urging both sides to meet at the bargaining table.

"In every one of our city's darkest periods, nurses showed up to work. Their value is not negotiable and their worth is not up for debate," Mamdani said. "They show up and all they are asking for in return is dignity, respect, and the fair pay and treatment that they deserve. They should settle for nothing less." 

In preparation for the strike, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency and urged both sides to continue negotiating, and temporary travel nurses have been flown in from all over the country. 

Hospitals said a number of nurses also decided to cross the picket line. Mount Sinai says nearly 20% of nurses reported for work.

Although all hospitals have emergency contingency plans in place to continue patient care for however long the work disruption lasts, some families expressed concern.

"They are playing with the life of our son. My son. There's a bunch of kids inside this hospital and they need those nurses," said Ana Valoy, whose son is a patient at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. 

"They definitely need the nurses. They need to wrap this up quick," said Charlie Bravo, whose sister is a patient at Mount Sinai West.

Hospitals respond 

Mount Sinai accused NYSNA of making "extreme economic demands."

A spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday evening:

"We are incredibly grateful to the Mount Sinai nurses who have continued to come to work and not participate in NYSNA's strike. We had 20 percent of our scheduled nurses come to work on Monday and put our patients first, and so far today we have seen similar numbers, hundreds of nurses who have joined their teams at the bedside. It is a credit to our entire system that we were prepared to withstand this disruption and continue to be there for New Yorkers in need. 

"Unfortunately, NYSNA has yet to provide an offer that could be considered reasonable, instead sticking to proposals that would cost $1.6 billion over three years just at The Mount Sinai Hospital, raising average nurse pay to close to $250,000, which is before factoring in the contributions we make to benefits. 

"We have now committed significant additional funds to maintain our qualified and specialized agency nurses so that we can continue to be prepared to provide safe patient care at least through next week as the strike continues."

NewYork-Presbyterian said it has proposed significant wage increases that keeps nurses among the highest paid in the city. 

"While NYSNA has told nurses to walk away from the bedside, we remain focused on our patients and their care. This strike is designed to create disruption, but we have taken the necessary steps so our patients continue to receive the care they trust us to provide," NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement. "We're ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today's healthcare environment...We have proposed significant wage increases that keep our nurses among the highest paid in the city, enhancements to their outstanding employer-funded benefits and new measures that reflect our shared commitment to safe staffing and workplace safety. However, good faith bargaining requires compromise from both sides."  

Montefiore said the union leaders are making reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases.

"NYSNA's leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job. We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last," Montefiore Senior Vice President Joe Solmonese said.

Some hospitals in the area were able to reach a deal with NYSNA, including all Northwell Health facilities in Nassau County, while others previously pulled back their strike notices.