The largest nurses strike in New York City’s history is now officially in its second week.

“We gotta keep this going. If someone’s goal is to keep this going and bust the union and put a bad name on the nurses, we are not going to let that happen,” Mianna Scott, a protester, said.

It has been cold and snowed, but the nurses of the New York State Nurses Association have remained on the picket line.

Mount Sinai nurses say they are motivated to continue to do so until a fair deal is struck with their hospitals that includes safe staffing standards, protections from workplace violence and no cuts to health care benefits.

“It’s difficult to be out here and not be inside doing what we love to do. The patients are the most important thing. That’s why we come here every day. Being out here is not something I want to have to do, but it’s really important to stand up for what we think is right,” Jennifer Fischman, a protester, said.

Since the work stoppage began last week, not much progress has been made between the five hospitals and their respective union negotiators.

Last Thursday, NewYork Presbyterian returned to the negotiating table. Despite the help of a mediator, after hours of negotiations, the sides did not move any closer to a deal.

It was the same case for Mount Sinai on Friday.

As for Montefiore, it remains unclear when their talks with the union will resume.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin joined the nurses on the picket line Monday morning.

“We want to make sure that we get nurses back into the hospitals. We want to make sure there is safe staffing, which is incredibly important for the nurses [and] for the patients. We are urging the parties to come to the table,” she said.

Each hospital has brought in temporary nurses to keep its facilities operational and caring for patients.

In its most recent statement, Mount Sinai said: “We have extended our contracts for agency nurses to ensure we have a workforce willing to provide care to our patients. We are onboarding an additional complement of agency nurses focused on specialty areas so that we can rapidly bring our scheduled surgical volumes back to normal.”

With no end to the strike in sight, nurses say they will continue to miss their paychecks for a better contract.

“We’re trying to be positive, you know? We’re not paid. We’re trying to have a little fun, which is keep moving. You know, this is a very serious matter,” Roy Permaul, a protester, said. “We don’t want to be out here. I’d rather be inside taking care of my patients.”

“This is a short-term struggle to get long-term gain,” Beth Mattucci, a protester, said. “All of us have our own lives, and we need paychecks to sustain ourselves and health care to sustain ourselves. But none of us[ wants] to be out here. I want to be inside. I want to be taking care of my patients. I am a lifelong New Yorker. Like, this is my calling, and I just want to get back in as soon as I can in a safe and respectful manner.”

Contract talks between the hospitals and the nurses union did not continue over the weekend, and it remains unclear when the next bargaining session will be for any of the impacted hospitals.