Brigham Nurses Plan July 8 Strike as 4,000 Fight 0% Raise Offer
Updated
Updated · WBUR News · Jul 3
Brigham Nurses Plan July 8 Strike as 4,000 Fight 0% Raise Offer
3 articles · Updated · WBUR News · Jul 3
Summary
More than 4,000 Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurses are set to strike July 8 after Thursday talks failed to produce a new contract and no further bargaining sessions were scheduled.
Wages and health insurance remain the main disputes: the union wants 3% and 4% raises over an 18-month deal, while the hospital has offered no across-the-board increase and seeks a 2.5-point premium hike for some plans.
Mass General Brigham says annual 5% step increases already keep Brigham nurses among the state’s highest paid, and argues the union proposal would add more than $90 million a year and push health-cost growth above the 3.6% state target.
The hospital is bringing in more than 1,200 traveling nurses for the walkout; because their contracts require a five-day minimum, union nurses would not return until July 13 even though the union called a one-day strike.
The dispute lands amid wider labor pressure in Massachusetts healthcare, with 450 Mass General Brigham home-care clinicians also set to strike July 8 and UMass Memorial nurses in Worcester having authorized a 14-day walkout.