Dozens of Garnet Health Medical Center employees held a protest in Middletown Thursday, calling on the hospital to agree to better wages to address “crisis level” staffing problems.

The 1199SEIU members held signs that said, “underpaid and overworked,” and chanted “if we don’t get it, shut it down!” across from the hospital on East Main Street.

“We have people who are living in their vehicles, working full-time in this hospital who have to choose between paying for gas or eating lunch,” says Garnet nursing unit coordinator Nina Geiss. “That’s ridiculous.”

The group represents nearly 2,000 of the hospital’s employes who work in service, technical, professional and business roles - and have been without a contract since September.

“I stand with front-line workers at Garnet Medical Centers. They get up every morning and dedicate themselves to saving lives and caring for our community. They deserve a fair contract that honors their hard work and professionalism,” says Rep. Pat Ryan.

Union representatives say talks with Garnet have reached a stalemate.

“The membership told us they can’t afford to live. People are living in their cars,” says Angela Lane with 1199. “How do we have health care workers living in their cars?”

Workers are asking for an 18% raise over the next three years. So far, the hospital has not responded to News 12’s request for comment.

“This hospital had a contract for the RN’s that was monumental. It was a lot of money on the table that they approved. Garnet knew come October we were up for a contract,” Lane says.

The group claims workers are leaving for other area hospitals that offer more competitive pay and claim low staffing levels contributed to a spike in average emergency room wait times last year that exceeded national wait times for emergency room care.

“People are tired. We can’t be heroes,” says Geiss. “We need to be able to pay our bills and we can’t do that right now.”