Brigham Nurses Reject 'Last, Best and Final' Offer, Keeping a Strike on the Table
About 4,000 nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital voted down Mass General Brigham's contract offer after a two-day vote. The union says it wants to resume talks; it would need to give 10 days' notice before any strike.
Nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital have rejected what Mass General Brigham called its "last, best and final" contract offer, extending a yearlong labor dispute at one of the state's largest hospitals, the Massachusetts Nurses Association said late Friday.
The vote ran Thursday and Friday, Oct. 22 and 23, among the roughly 4,000 nurses in the bargaining unit, the largest group of unionized nurses in Massachusetts, according to WBUR. The union said a majority voted no but did not release a vote count, WBUR and NBC Boston reported.
"This vote shows the resolve of Brigham nurses, who are fighting for patient safety and for the professional respect we deserve," Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse who chairs the union's bargaining committee, said in a statement. "It's time for MGB to return to the table ready to negotiate in good faith to reach a fair agreement that recognizes the value of Brigham nurses and the expertise they offer for the care of some of the region's most complex patients every day."
The union said it had contacted Mass General Brigham to restart negotiations next week, NBC Boston reported. Its statement did not discuss a strike.
Hospital officials said they were disappointed. "Although we are disappointed by the outcome, our priority and focus remain on providing safe, high-quality patient care," the hospital said, according to WBUR. Officials said the proposal "reflected the hospital's commitment to investing in our nurses while supporting long-term sustainability" and "kept Brigham nursing pay among the highest in the market."
Wages are the sticking point. According to WBUR, the two sides agreed on many provisions but not on pay. Brigham nurses currently receive 5% step increases each year for their first 20 years. The offer added 2.5% annual raises for two years for nurses at the top of the scale but did not include the additional across-the-board increases the union sought. WBUR reported that senior nurses at the Brigham earn $220,000 a year or more. Mass General Brigham has said it cannot afford the raises the union originally demanded, and this week the health system confirmed it was cutting some jobs to save costs, WBUR reported. NBC Boston reported it was the system's second round of layoffs in two years.
The dispute has already disrupted the hospital once. Nurses held a one-day strike in July, and the hospital then locked them out for four more days while using temporary staff, WBUR reported. The union called it the largest nurse and health care strike in state history, according to NBC Boston.
After talks stalled, the union scheduled an open-ended strike for Oct. 14. It postponed that walkout after reaching the tentative offer that nurses have now rejected. Boston 25 News reported the postponement came just over a week before the vote.
Federal labor law requires unions at health care institutions to give 10 days' notice before a walkout. Union leaders retain the authority to call one, but they have not announced plans, WBUR reported.
The vote comes as another large Boston hospital settled. Boston Medical Center and about 2,000 nurses represented by 1199SEIU reached a deal that averted a possible three-day strike, with raises the union called "meaningful," especially for early-career nurses, WBUR reported.
Not yet known: the vote margin, when bargaining will resume, and whether Mass General Brigham will revise its wage offer or hold to the proposal it called final.
