Overview
- Nearly 4,000 nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital overwhelmingly authorized a one-day strike, with 2,798 voting yes and 12 voting no in a June 16 vote.
- The vote follows more than seven months of bargaining and 19 sessions that the Massachusetts Nurses Association says stalled over cost-of-living raises and proposals to increase nurses’ health insurance costs.
- The union says many nurses were effectively offered 0% wage increases and points to Mass General Brigham’s reported FY2024 executive pay as evidence the system has resources for higher nurse pay and cheaper benefits.
- Brigham management says its offer includes annual 5 percent step increases and raises for top-scale nurses and that the hospital is prepared to maintain patient care if a strike is called.
- Nurses say they do not want to strike but authorized the vote to press for better staffing, recruitment and retention; the next bargaining session is scheduled for June 18 and any strike would need at least 10 days’ legal notice, which will determine whether the authorization becomes an actual walkout.