Thousands of nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, voted on July 24 and 25 to authorize one-day strikes.
Brigham nurses voted 2,507-16 on July 24 in favor of strike authorization, according to a statement from the union. Faulkner nurses followed suit July 25, voting 341-1 for a potential strike. The MNA represents a combined 4,500 nurses at the Boston-based facilities.
The votes come after months of contract negotiations between the union and the hospitals' parent organization, Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham.
Union representatives contend that during negotiations, hospital management has failed to provide Faulkner nurses wage parity with Brigham nurses.
"MGB executives must address the wage disparity between Brigham and Faulkner to properly value our nurses and ensure safe patient care conditions," Kathy Glennon, RN, co-chair of the MNA bargaining committee, said in a union statement.
At Brigham, nurses seek improved staffing, a choice in terms of health insurance, and a fair and market-competitive wage increase, according to the MNA.
"We do not want to have to strike but are prepared to act if MGB executives keep putting patient safety at risk by not investing in our nursing workforce," Kelly Morgan, a Brigham labor and delivery nurse and BWH MNA chair, said in a union statement. "We cannot continue caring for patients under these conditions, and the hospital cannot operate without its nurses."
Mass General Brigham shared the following statement with Becker's: "We have been negotiating in good faith with the Massachusetts Nursing Association's two bargaining committees at both Brigham and Women's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, with a genuine desire to come to agreement with both committees. We have made progress, reached tentative agreements on many issues, and feel confident that we proposed fair contracts that will allow us to continue our trend of meeting or exceeding national staffing rates. We are prepared to continue discussions and deeply value the contributions of our nurses in meeting the needs of our patients and their loved ones. If a strike takes place, we are positioned to continue to provide the care our patients expect."
A strike authorization vote does not mean a strike will take place. The bargaining committee from this point may schedule a strike and must provide hospital management with 10 days' notice.