Nurses Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize Strike at Brigham and Women's Hospital for a Fair Contract that Addresses Unsafe and Unsustainable Patient Care Conditions

Brigham nurses voted on July 24 to authorize their MNA Bargaining Committee to hold a one-day strike if MGB executives refuse to agree to a fair contract that invests in nurses to improve patient safety

BOSTON, July 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The nearly 4,000 Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), voted in overwhelming numbers on July 24 to authorize a one-day strike as nurses negotiate a contract to address the hospital's ongoing failure to recruit and retain the nurses necessary for safe patient care and quality working conditions.

Brigham nurses' successful strike vote comes after they held an informational picket, brought in a federal mediator, and held 28 bargaining sessions over 10 months. The vote does not mean a strike will automatically take place. The BWH MNA Bargaining Committee will schedule a strike, if necessary, based on how management proceeds in negotiations following the vote. If a strike is scheduled, the committee must provide at least 10 days' notice. Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital nurses are also voting on July 25 to authorize a one-day strike.

"I am incredibly proud of Brigham nurses for standing up for their patients and nursing practice with this strike vote," said Kelly Morgan, a Brigham labor and delivery nurse and BWH MNA Chair. "We do not want to have to strike but are prepared to act if MGB executives keep putting patient safety at risk by not investing in our nursing workforce. We cannot continue caring for patients under these conditions, and the hospital cannot operate without its nurses."

"Nurses have been telling us for months they are willing to strike to protect their patients and each other. Today MGB executives heard loud and clear Brigham nurses are united!" said Jim McCarthy, a PACU nurse and BWH MNA Vice Chair. "While Brigham nurses fight for a competitive contract, executives are making millions in bonuses every year. We care for extremely sick and injured patients under the threat of violence without enough staff. MGB should be investing in nurses to make the Brigham safer for everyone."

Nurses are Fighting for:

• Improved staffing and patient care.
  • The strike vote comes amid negotiations for a new contract, but the overall challenges faced by nurses are driving their actions.
  • In open meetings attended by 1,000+ nurses and in organizing conversations with thousands more, Brigham nurses have expressed grave concern over inadequate staffing levels and their impact on patient safety.
  • A competitive wage increase will help address widespread understaffing which puts patients and nurses at risk.
• Health insurance choice. 
  • Brigham nurses are dissatisfied with MGB health insurance. Many nurses are forced to use the insurance and experience long wait times for appointments and imaging, as well as out-of-network costs.
  • Nurses have delivered a petition signed by more than 3,200 nurses demanding the option to change insurance plans during annual enrollment.
  • Management has refused to provide permanent choice.
  • As part of their advocacy, nurses launched a series of videos expressing dissatisfaction with Mass General Brigham (MGB) health insurance and demanding better choice: https://www.massnurses.org/BrighamInsurance. 
• A fair and market-competitive wage increase.
  • BWH has historically been a leader in acute care hospital wages.
  • Recently, other hospitals have offered similar if not higher wages, impacting BWH's ability to recruit and retain nurses.
  • Management refuses to even match the recent wage settlement of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Brigham would fall even further behind and continue to face recruitment and retention problems.

MGB's Wealth:

• BWH routinely makes enormous profits, including $108.7 million in the fiscal year-to-date period ending June 30, 2023, and $123 million in FY2022, according to CHIA. System-wide, MGB made $81.6 million in profits in the first quarter of FY2024.
• Anne Klibanski, MGB's president and CEO, made a nearly 25% salary increase from 2020 to 2021, going from $4.3 million to more than $5 million.
• MGB is spending $2 billion expanding Mass General Hospital and Faulkner Hospital. This follows construction of a $465 million HQ in Somerville and a reported $100 million rebranding campaign.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 25,000 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