South Shore Endoscopy Center Nurses to Hold September 21 Informational Picket in Braintree as Corporate Giant MGB Disrespects and Undervalues RNs Providing Patients Critical Gastrointestinal Care

Mass General Brigham, the largest hospital corporation in New England, has undervalued and disrespected South Shore Endoscopy Center nurses, leading them to unionize and hold a September 21 picket

BRAINTREE, Mass., Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Registered nurses at Brigham and Women's Harbor Medical Associates South Shore Endoscopy (SSEC), represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, will hold an informational picket September 21 on Washington Street in Braintree as they negotiate a first MNA contract and owner Mass General Brigham refuses to agree to reasonable pay, time off benefits and overtime improvements necessary to maintain a thriving nurse workforce.

Informational Picket Details
When: Thursday, Sept. 21 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: On the sidewalk outside South Shore Endoscopy Center at 659 Washington St., Braintree, MA
Who: Nurses, community supporters will picket and talk to the public about how MGB's corporate priorities are getting in the way of having a satisfied nursing workforce to provide high-quality GI procedures.  

"Mass General Brigham is an enormous healthcare corporation that dominates in this region, and yet MGB executives refuse to prioritize resources for South Shore Endoscopy Center nurses and our patients," said SSEC RN Christine Smith, a member of the nurses' MNA Bargaining Committee. "We have been trying to negotiate a first union contract with MGB for many months, but they have stubbornly refused to meet us in a reasonable place on competitive pay, time off benefits, and overtime.

"MGB's refusal to settle a fair contract with us is especially troubling considering its enormous profits and how much it pays executives," Smith said. "South Shore Endoscopy Center nurses simply want to be valued by MGB similarly to the many other unionized nurses it employs across Massachusetts."

The 16 SSEC nurses play a key role in providing patients safe, high-quality gastrointestinal (GI) procedures that do not require hospitalization. Thanks to the hard work and skill of the nurses and other team members, SSEC is known as an exceptional endoscopy practice. The nurses won a union election on September 27, 2022 and are seeking a fair contract to ensure ongoing investment in their ability to provide this excellent care.

Bargaining Highlights

• MGB is proposing annual wage increases that are not competitive in today's healthcare market and considerably lower than what nurses can receive at other MGB facilities.
• MGB has a time off system at SSEC that is worse than other similar healthcare facilities and a source of dissatisfaction. Nurses are forced to use their limited time off to pay for holidays they cannot work because SSEC is closed.
• MGB is refusing to provide daily overtime pay – a widespread standard at other healthcare facilities in the area, including MGB-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

MGB Finances and Executive Pay

• SSEC is owned by Mass General Brigham, the largest private employer in Massachusetts and one of the largest hospital system-based research enterprises in the U.S., with an annual research budget of $2 billion.
• Overall, MGB generated $16.7 billion in revenue in 2022 and has historically made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits annually.
• During the FY2023 period ending March 31, 2023, MGB earned $841 million more than expenses, according to the Center for Health Information and Analysis.
• From 2020 to 2021, the pay of MGB CEO Dr. Anne Klibanski jumped 25%, going from $4,286,146 to $5,377,699, according to the Boston Globe.

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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