Local
Brigham nurses reject contract proposal and seek new talks with hospital system
About 4,000 nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital voted down Mass General Brigham’s latest contract offer. Their union says it has asked to resume negotiations next week; any renewed strike would require 10 days’ notice.
Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have rejected a contract offer from parent company Mass General Brigham, setting up another round of negotiations after a planned strike was put on hold.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association said Friday that the bargaining committee representing roughly 4,000 nurses wants to restart talks next week. The union did not release the vote tally or say whether it is considering another strike.
If the union decides to strike, it must give the hospital 10 days’ notice. Nurses had been preparing for an open-ended walkout before pausing to vote on the proposal, which Mass General Brigham described as its last and best offer.
“ This vote shows the resolve of Brigham nurses, who are fighting for patient safety and for the professional respect we deserve,” bargaining committee chair Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse, said in a union statement. Morgan urged the system to return to negotiations in good faith and reach an agreement recognizing nurses’ work and expertise.
Mass General Brigham said it was disappointed by the vote and that its focus remains on providing safe, high-quality patient care. The system previously said its proposal included movement on several union priorities, including an increase in base salary.
The contract dispute follows a one-day nurses’ strike in July over pay and working conditions. The hospital system then locked out nurses for four days. The union called the labor action the largest nursing and health care strike in Massachusetts history.