Brigham nurses postpone major strike as they schedule vote on hospital's 'final offer'

Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurses have postponed their indefinite strike and will vote on a contract deal with Mass General Brigham that leaves out a key demand, their union announced late Saturday night.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents the 4,000 Brigham nurses who were planning to walk off the job Wednesday morning, accused MGB management of “refusing to provide cost of living wage increases, a strategy we believe is intended to break our union, putting patients and the community at risk.”

“As a democratic organization, given the complexity of the agreement and the impact of a potential strike on our nurses and the community, the Brigham Nurses’ MNA Committee has decided to postpone the strike to allow the 4,000 Brigham nurses to vote on this offer,” the union said in a statement. “Brigham nurses will decide our next steps.”

MNA spokesperson Joe Markman said the date for the contract vote is not scheduled yet but will “likely” happen in two weeks. The union needs to secure space for the in-person vote, he said.

Beyond cost-of-living increases, the nurses say they are also seeking affordable health insurance and limits on the use of temporary travel nurses. MGB and the nurses are embroiled in a monthslong contract logjam, and tensions flared in July as the nurses went on a one-day strike that turned into a five-day work stoppage. The nurses in late September overwhelmingly voted to authorize an indefinite strike as the impasse continued.

The MNA said nurses offered multiple compromises during hours of private talks Thursday, though both parties declared they could not resolve the stalemate. Nurses and MGB returned to the bargaining table on Saturday morning.

“During our 27th bargaining session with the MNA, the hospital made significant movement on several of the union’s priorities and presented its last, best and final offer in an effort to reach agreement,” MGB spokesperson Jessica Pastore said in a statement just before midnight. “The hospital believes its final proposal reflects the value our nurses bring to patient care while balancing our responsibility to patients, our workforce, and the long-term strength of the hospital. We are thankful the MNA has pulled its indefinite strike notice and will allow its members to vote on the hospital’s final offer.”

As they prepared for the possibility of an indefinite strike, MGB leaders had contingency plans in place to maintain continuity of care and keep the hospital open. The hospital anticipated bringing on 1,600 to 2,000 temporary replacement nurses, with many already filling roles at the Brigham during the July strike.

In a memo, Brigham and Women’s Hospital senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer Julia Mason said Saturday’s negotiating session lasted 13 hours.

The contract would be in place through Sept. 30, 2028, according to Mason, and ensure that “all nurses would receive an increase to their base salary for both years of the contract.” The offer “adds an employee contribution of 2.5% (approximately $10 per week) only for nurses hired into 40-hour positions after ratification who elect individual coverage in the post-tax plan. There would be no increase to the employee premium share for nurses who currently are regularly scheduled for 40 hours while they remain in that position, nor would there be an increase to the employee premium share for any nurse enrolled in the post-tax plan.”

“We made every effort to find common ground and narrow the remaining differences,” Mason wrote. “We are encouraged that our nurses will now have the opportunity to review and vote on the hospital’s final offer.”