The Massachusetts Nurses Association said its members will vote July 24 on whether to authorize a 24-hour strike at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The union represents nearly 4,000 nurses at the hospital, which is part of Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham.
A vote to authorize a strike does not mean a strike will take place. However, it allows the union to hold one if both sides do not agree on a new labor contract.
"We take a strike at Brigham extremely seriously," Kelly Morgan, a Brigham labor and delivery nurse and BWH MNA chair, said in a news release. "MGB executives have forced the hand of Brigham nurses by taking advantage of our dedication to our patients."
The union and hospital began negotiating a new labor contract for about a year, according to the MNA.
Union representatives say nurses seek improved staffing, a choice in terms of health insurance, and a fair and market-competitive wage increase.
A spokesperson for Brigham and Women's Hospital shared the following statement with Becker's: "We have been negotiating with the Massachusetts Nurses Association since August of 2023 and have participated in 28 sessions with the union to date, along with a federal mediator since May 6. We made tremendous progress, are very close together on wages, and have reached tentative agreements on other priorities they've brought forward. We feel confident that we proposed a fair and equitable contract and hope the MNA continues to negotiate in good faith with us."