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Brigham and Women's Nurses, Hospital Reach Tentative Deal Hours Before 4,000-Worker Strike
A late-night tentative agreement between Brigham and Women's Hospital and its nurses union averted what would have been the largest open-ended nurses strike in Massachusetts history, with more than 4,000 nurses set to walk off the job Thursday morning.
BOSTON â Brigham and Women's Hospital and its nurses union reached a tentative contract agreement late Wednesday night, averting a strike by more than 4,000 nurses that was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Thursday and would have been the largest open-ended nurses strike in Massachusetts history.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association said the deal with Mass General Brigham, the hospital's parent system, addresses the nurses' central priorities. The two sides had been locked in dispute over wages, health care benefits and how to resolve chronic staffing shortages.
"I'm incredibly proud of the Brigham nurses who stood strong to protect the world-class patient care we provide," said Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse who chairs the BWH MNA bargaining committee. "We secured this agreement with the help of countless community members, patients, unions and elected officials who supported us for many months. By standing together, we protected patients and the future of union nursing care at the Brigham."
The agreement is still subject to ratification by nurses in the bargaining unit, which the union has indicated it will support. The hospital said the deal was reached "within the financial limits of the hospital's last, best and final offer presented on Oct. 10."
"We deeply value our Brigham nurses and believe this agreement recognizes their important contributions while supporting the long-term sustainability of our hospital and our ability to care for our patients and communities," the hospital said in a statement Wednesday night.
The strike had been set to begin Thursday morning, and the hospital had been making large-scale preparations for it as both sides returned to the bargaining table for last-minute negotiations. The open-ended strike was originally scheduled for mid-October but was postponed so the union could consider the hospital's final offer. Nurses voted to reject that offer on Nov. 1 and set a new strike date.
The standoff followed a one-day strike in July, after which the hospital locked nurses out for four additional days, citing contractual obligations for temporary replacement staff. That action was the largest health care strike in state history at the time.
The dispute drew support from community members, patients, other unions and elected officials over months of organizing, according to the union. For Boston-area patients, the tentative deal means care at one of the region's flagship hospitals will continue without the disruption of a prolonged walkout, though the agreement's details will face a ratification vote by the nurses who would have been on the picket line.