ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The number of workers of the University of Rochester and its Medical Center who walked off the job as part of a 17-hour strike is about a thousand.

The strike began at 6 a.m. and wrapped up at 11 p.m. Two unions, 1199SEIU, which represents URMC workers, and SEIU Local 200, which represents River Campus workers, voted to go on strike after they couldn’t reach an agreement with the university’s management. Together, the unions represent 1,800 employees, including patient care technicians, stock keepers, drivers, and food servers.

The unions say they’re fighting for a living wage and comprehensive benefits to recruit and retain workers, which could help with staffing issues. The most recent union contract expired on Oct. 31 and there hasn’t been an agreement after 31 bargaining sessions. In late November, the workers approved the strike in a near unanimous vote.

News10NBC TODAY spoke with union leaders live on Elmwood Avenue on Wednesday morning about the strike and what they’re fighting for:

The strike comes as 1199SEIU filed for unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board. In a media release, the union claimed that URMC leadership failed to bargain in good faith when they didn’t return to the bargaining table with a counter proposal on wages.

The University of Rochester provided this statement about the strike:

The University has been negotiating in good faith since late August with representatives from 1199SEIU and 200United SEIU to achieve a multi-year contract renewal that is fair, competitive and equitable. We continued to negotiate on Monday but despite our best efforts to reach an agreement, we expect a one-day strike will take place from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13, as previously announced.

Contingency plans are in place to ensure that all University operations and activities, including patient care at the Medical Center, will take place without disruption on Wednesday. In the event of a prolonged strike, University officials are confident that campus operations would continue as normal without interruption. However, we are always willing and prepared to meet at the bargaining table to continue to negotiate a fair and equitable contract.