Nurses at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital have gone on strike to protest for better working conditions.

Hundreds of nurses walked out on the job on the first day of a planned two-day strike.

The strike comes as the New York State Nurses Association filed a health and safety complaint with OSHA claiming the hospital is understaffed and underprepared for the current wave of the virus.

Once the nation's outbreak epicenter, nurses in New Rochelle are begging to avoid past mistakes.

"We don't want a repeat of that. We want to be more prepared," says Montefiore New Rochelle ER nurse Shalon Matthews.

The walkout follows a breakdown in contract talks, which have lingered for two years.

Nurses are asking for better pay, additional staffing and more PPE.

But hospital officials tell a different story - one where they made concessions to no avail.

Montefiore leaders say they offered a pay raise and stockpiled three-months' worth of PPE.

The hospital transferred patients to other hospitals in preparation for the walkout as nurses vow to continue until Thursday.