Local
Brigham nurses withdraw Wednesday strike notice as contract offer heads to vote
Brigham and Women’s nurses will vote on Mass General Brigham’s latest contract proposal after their union withdrew a planned Wednesday strike notice. The union says the offer still lacks cost-of-living raises, leaving a potential labor dispute unresolved.
Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital will have a chance to vote on the hospital’s latest contract offer after the Massachusetts Nurses Association withdrew a strike notice late Saturday, taking a planned walkout off the calendar for Wednesday.
The hospital described its proposal as its last, best and final offer, saying it represented significant movement on several union priorities. It would raise every nurse’s base salary and increase by 2.5% the maximum earning level on the current pay scale, according to the hospital.
The union said that, despite hours of negotiations, the proposal still does not provide cost-of-living wages. The nurses’ vote will determine whether they accept the offer; no vote date was provided.
The dispute follows a one-day nurses’ strike in July over similar issues. The hospital then locked out nurses for four days. The union called the labor action the largest nurses’ and health care strike in Massachusetts history.
With Wednesday’s strike notice withdrawn, patients and families can expect the planned disruption not to take place. The union could call another strike, but would have to give the hospital 10 days’ notice.