Steubenville, OH -- Nurses at Trinity Medical Center East hit the picket lines this morning in day one of their strike.

They say sticking points between the parties are wage increases and better healthcare.

The members of Local 97 of the Ohio Nurses Associations filed a 10 day strike notice late last week and Friday night an overwhelming majority voted to begin striking at 7am this morning.

The nurses argue that they are the lowest paid nurses in the state and many area hospitals are offering wages that range from $2 to $5 more per hour.

They say these wages also come with better benefits while Trinity's health insurance premiums, co-pays and drug costs are increasing.

Union president, Becky Salvino, says, "We're hoping for a good contract not only to retain the nurses we have to care for the public but to recruit new nurses and with what we've been offered that may be very hard to do in the future."

Hospital spokesman, Keith Murdock says, "We have a number of nurses who work at Trinity East who are not a part of the union and they are filling in the shifts. Most of them have experience in the area that they're servicing and we can operate like this for an indefinite period of time."

Murdock says the hospital will not close any departments during the strike.

This includes labor and delivery.

Trinity is offering a hotline for any expectant moms if you go into labor and need immediate help - (740) 283-7352.

No new talks have been scheduled but union members say they are willing to meet with the hospital at any time.