Brigham Nurses and Mass General Brigham Fail to Reach Contract Deal

The sides spent about 15 hours negotiating on November 9, but did not settle the contract dispute. The Massachusetts Nurses Association has scheduled an indefinite strike to start at 7 a.m. on November 12. Union bargaining committee chair Kelly Morgan said nurses are willing to return to negotiations before then in an effort to avoid a walkout. The hospital said it remains open to further talks and is preparing to continue patient care if a strike proceeds.

The hospital said about 400 temporary nurses began onboarding on November 10, with another 400 expected to start the following day. It said many had worked during the union’s one-day strike in July, when about 4,000 nurses walked out. The hospital then locked out the nurses for four additional days, citing agreements requiring temporary staff to work five days.

Nurses rejected the hospital’s final offer on October 23. The proposal did not provide across-the-board raises; it included two 2.5 percent increases at the highest pay step, which applies to the most senior nurses. The union has identified general wage increases as a central demand. The hospital says nurses’ pay is among the market’s highest, and that roughly 30 percent earn at least $220,000 annually.

The union authorized an indefinite strike on September 24 by a vote of 2,986 to 215, and gave the hospital the required 10-day notice last week. The hospital says it has also addressed union concerns involving staffing, temporary nurses, assignments between units, scheduling and health insurance. The union has criticized management’s approach to negotiations and says the hospital should invest in patient care rather than spending millions to prepare for another strike.