Talks between Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital and the union that represents 3,300 nurses there are at a standstill, according to an editorial in The Boston Globe.
On June 13, the Massachusetts Nurses Association voted to authorize a one-day strike. A walkout is now more likely, after the latest negotiation session fizzled, according to the report.
A strike is tentatively set to begin at 7 a.m. June 27 and would include nurses at the main hospital campus in the Longwood area of Boston, along with Brigham facilities in Foxborough, Newton, Jamaica Plain and Chestnut Hill.
If a strike takes place as planned, Brigham, owned by Boston-based Partners HealthCare, said it will cancel many appointments and elective procedures, according to The Boston Globe. Brigham said on its website that it has also already contracted with an outside agency to supply roughly 700 replacement nurses, who would work alongside nonunion Brigham nurses. The contracted nurses would be at Brigham for five days, meaning the hospital's staff nurses would return to the hospital at 7 a.m. July 2.
The hospital said the main points of disagreement in the bargaining sessions are wage increases, health insurance benefits and time off.
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