Brigham Nurses Reach Tentative Contract Agreement, Averting Strike and Securing Strong Improvements for Patients and Nurses

Built on powerful solidarity and widespread support, contract agreement will help nurses provide the world-class care Brigham patients need and deserve

BOSTON, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The more than 4,000 registered nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), reached a tentative contract agreement with Mass General Brigham (MGB) on Wednesday, November 11, averting an historic open-ended strike scheduled to begin November 12.

The tentative contract agreement addresses the Brigham nurses' central priorities:

• Protecting safe patient care by addressing the hospital's reliance on temporary nurses and floating.
• Preserving affordable health insurance.
• Protecting the nurses' wage scale while remaining competitive for experienced nurses to help recruit and retain a strong permanent nursing workforce.

The BWH MNA Bargaining Committee, made up of nurses elected by their colleagues, will recommend that Brigham nurses vote to ratify the agreement.

"I'm incredibly proud of the Brigham nurses who stood strong to protect the world-class patient care we provide," said Kelly Morgan, RN, a labor and delivery nurse and Chair of 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 nurses' tentative agreement follows months of negotiations and collective action by Brigham nurses, including a July 8 one-day strike and four-day lockout, and an overwhelming September 24 vote authorizing an open-ended strike. Nurses issued notice on October 2 for a strike beginning October 14, then voted on October 22 and 23 to reject MGB's "last, best, and final" contract offer. The agreement reached hours before a newly scheduled strike was set to begin.

Tentative Agreement Highlights

• Protecting patient care by addressing temporary staffing and floating:
  • The hospital committed in contract language that it does not intend to replace permanent Brigham nurses with temporary nurses.
    
    
  • The hospital will post 20 new 36-hour float pool nurse positions to help limit reliance on temporary nurses and reduce the need to float nurses.
    
    
  • The hospital will track floating into and out of each unit and the use of temporary nurses. It will provide the MNA with data that will be reviewed by a new joint Staffing and Resources Committee that will look for ways to reduce floating and the use of temporary staff.
    
    
  • The hospital will discuss with the MNA whether to post positions for temporary nurses who are not covering a leave of absence or covering orientation.
    • Limiting temporary staffing supports continuity of care by keeping more patients with nurses who know their units, colleagues, hospital policies and specialized care practices.
      
      
    • Reducing floating helps nurses remain in their areas of expertise, addressing the patient safety risks that arise when nurses are reassigned to unfamiliar settings.
  • Additionally, the hospital must provide the MNA with a rationale whenever more than 15% of the FTE positions in any hospital unit/cost center are covered by temporary nurses.
    
    
• Enabling charge nurses to better coordinate and protect patient care: 
  • Charge nurses and Nurses-in-Charge will be guaranteed a less acute patient assignment or no patient assignment, allowing these nurses to help with the flow of patients in and out of the unit, and to assist nurses caring for more acute patients.
    
    
  • This protection gives nurses responsible for coordinating care greater capacity to support bedside nurses, respond to emergencies, oversee admissions and address safety concerns across their units.
    
    
• Fighting back against health insurance cost increases: 
  • Nurses defeated a proposed Harvard Pilgrim premium split increase for all current nurses.
    
    
  • Nurses agreed to a compromise on 40-hour nurses on individual plans. Current nurses working 40 hours will retain premium-free coverage while newly hired 40-hour nurses will contribute 2.5% of the premium.
    
    
  • Preserving affordable coverage helps nurses and their families stay healthy while nurses continue caring for others.
    
    
• Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) practice management time:
  • The hospital has inconsistently provided practice management time for APRNs in ambulatory settings to chart outside of their scheduled clinic visits. This has meant APRNs being pressured by management to work without being paid to complete their work.
    
    
  • This agreement requires the hospital to meet with the MNA to work toward an agreement about providing ambulatory APRNs with dedicated practice management time.
    
    
• Wages: 
  • Duration: Ratification to Sept. 30, 2028
    
    
  • Effective Nov. 15, 2026:
    • Add a new top step that is 2.5% above step 21.
      
      
  • Effective upon ratification:
    • All nurses below the top step will receive a $1,000 bonus pro-rated based on FTE hours.
      
      
  • Effective Sept. 30, 2027:
    • Add a new top step that is 2.5% above step 22.
      
      
• Additional protections and benefits: 
  • The agreement strengthens cancellation protections by adding travelers and other temporary staff to the cancellation order and requiring advance notice or compensation when certain extra shifts are canceled.
    
    
  • Expanded access to education for nurses by providing additional funding and new language ensuring all nurses can take conference time.
    
    
  • Improves equitable access to vacation.
    
    
  • Adds grandchildren to bereavement leave.
    
    
  • Expands specialty certification reimbursement to all regularly scheduled nurses.
    
    
  • Nurses secured protection involving hospital mobile devices.
    
    
  • Added paid time for workplace-related court appearances.

"Every day, Brigham nurses provide extraordinary care to patients and families facing some of the most challenging moments of their lives," said Jim McCarthy, RN, a PACU nurse and Vice Chair of the BWH MNA Bargaining Committee. "Our collective power as union nurses has made it possible to support and advocate for our patients while securing this tentative agreement."

Widespread Support Helped Nurses Reach an Agreement

Brigham nurses express deep gratitude for the widespread support they have received from patients and their families, community members, fellow nurses and healthcare professionals, labor unions, and elected officials. From their first strike on July 8 through an escalating campaign ahead of the planned October 14 strike, supporters stood alongside nurses and reinforced the importance of reaching a fair agreement.

Supporters joined nurses on the picket line and at rallies, shared their message with friends and colleagues, spoke out publicly, and urged hospital leadership to reach an agreement that protects patient care and respects nurses. That solidarity helped sustain nurses through months of difficult negotiations and demonstrated how deeply the community values the care Brigham nurses provide.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 26,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association