Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute Advanced Practice Providers File for NLRB Election to Join the MNA After MGBCI Declines to Recognize Union

An overwhelming majority of MGB Cancer Institute Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants seek a collective voice through the MNA

BOSTON, Jan. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute (MGBCI) filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on January 29 seeking a union election to join the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) after MGBCI declined to voluntarily recognize their union despite clear majority support.

An overwhelming majority of the nearly 200 APPs – including Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants – have signed authorization cards to join the MNA. On Wednesday, January 28, a group of APPs formally requested voluntary recognition from Cancer Institute President David Ryan, MD, and the MGBCI Leadership Team, proposing a neutral third-party card check to confirm majority support. After receiving no response, the APPs moved forward with filing for an NLRB-conducted election.

"We are deeply committed to our patients, our work, and the mission of the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, and are proud of the care we provide across the system," the APPs wrote in a letter to Ryan. "We are excited by the growth and expansion taking place, and as patient needs and clinical complexity continue to increase, we believe APPs must have an equal seat at the table to help shape sustainable staffing models, fair compensation, and practice standards that support high-quality, compassionate care."

"By forming a union, we aim to partner constructively with leadership to raise concerns, share expertise, and collaboratively develop solutions grounded in frontline experience." 

Following the filing, the NLRB will set the logistics and timing of the election.

MGBCI APPs join thousands of MNA nurses and healthcare professionals who have long been unionized at MGB facilities, including Brigham and Women's Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, North Shore Medical Center (Salem Hospital), Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Martha's Vineyard Hospital, and Nantucket Cottage Hospital. They also join a growing number of MGB nurses and healthcare professionals who have recently decided to join the MNA to secure a strong union voice, including at MGB Home Care, MGB Home Hospital and MGB Occupational Health Services.

The MNA is the largest union and professional organization of nurses and healthcare professionals in Massachusetts. It represents 26,000 members in healthcare facilities across the state, including nurses at more than 70 percent of the Commonwealth's acute care hospitals, as well as a growing number of nurses and health professionals working in schools, visiting nurse associations, public health departments and state agencies. The MNA is led by a board of directors that is directly elected by its membership and consists of front-line nurses and healthcare professionals.

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

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association