Thousands of nurses at several major New York City medical centers striking amid stalled contract negotiations don’t have to “abandon their patients,” but rather their union, to avoid paying fines for continuing to work.

It’s a smaller price to pay. New York State Nurses Association union negotiators asked for smaller, 18% wage increases for nurses on strike at three Mount Sinai hospitals, officials confirmed Friday — as the historic walkout’s second week drew to a close.

As a strike by health workers stretches into its second week, pay is a major issue in negotiations, even if it’s not discussed much on the picket line.

As nearly 15,000 nurses’ strike, New York’s biggest hospital systems are trying to roll back hard-won staffing rules and health benefits—even as executive pay soars. Prajwal Bhat Nearly 15,000 nurses are in their second week of the largest nurses’ strike in New York City history,

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders are rallying with nurses in Manhattan during the ninth day of their strike.

New York City may be experiencing some of its coldest weather of the winter, with sub-zero temperatures biting fingers and nipping cheeks, but that hasn't prevented thousands of nurses from taking to the picket line for what is the largest nurses strike in the city's history.

Nurses gathered Wednesday for a candlelight vigil at NewYork-Presbyterian Children's Hospital in Washington Heights on Day 10 of the New York City nurses strike. CBS News New York's Jennifer Bisram reports.