Mass General Brigham Occupational Health Nurses Demand Recognition of Union Vote, Call on MGB Board in Letter to End Anti-Union Delays

MGB nurses and NPs urge executives to respect their 91% union vote and begin negotiations to strengthen workforce safety and patient care

BOSTON, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The registered nurses and nurse practitioners of Mass General Brigham (MGB) Occupational Health Services, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), have sent a letter to MGB Board Chair Scott M. Sperling urging the hospital system to respect their democratic decision to unionize and to begin contract negotiations without further delay.

Earlier this year, 91 percent of MGB Occupational Health clinicians voted to join the MNA. This was a decisive show of unity and support for a stronger voice in patient care and workplace standards. Despite this overwhelming result, MGB has refused to recognize the union and begin bargaining and instead has been "exploiting dysfunction at the National Labor Relations Board to delay, obstruct, and silence our voices."

"Our decision to unionize was driven by our commitment to the health and safety of the entire MGB workforce," the nurses and nurse practitioners wrote in their letter. "By refusing to engage with us, MGB leadership is not only disrespecting our rights as employees but undermining the very foundation of occupational health services that protect all caregivers across the system."

Maria Dolores, RN (also known as Ginger Medina), Chair of the MGB Occupational Health MNA Bargaining Unit, emphasized that the clinicians' efforts are rooted in collaboration and equality.

"We are proud of the work we do every day to keep MGB's caregivers healthy and safe," said Dolores. "Our vote to join the MNA was a clear message that we want to partner with leadership to strengthen that mission. Every day MGB delays recognition of our union is another day that the system's own health infrastructure fails to improve as it could. Respecting our democratic choice is the first step toward building a healthier, more sustainable workplace for everyone."

MGB Occupational Health nurses and nurse practitioners provide essential services that keep MGB's hospitals, clinics, and employees safe, from managing workplace injuries and exposures to ensuring compliance with public health protocols. The clinicians are calling on the MGB Board of Directors to direct management to cease all delay tactics and begin good-faith negotiations immediately.

"Recognizing and negotiating with our union is not just a matter of fairness," the letter to MGB Board Chair Sperling concludes. "It is a responsibility MGB management has to every patient who enters this system."

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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