Thousands of Nurses Vote to Strike at Brigham and Women's Hospital

A longstanding collective bargaining fight has burst into the open, as thousands of nurses with Brigham and Women's Hospital voted Monday to authorize a one-day strike.

According to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents most registered nurses there, 2,345 of its union members who cast ballots voted to authorize the strike and 115 voted against it. Another 840 did not cast a ballot.

The MNA is calling this the largest nurses' strike in Massachusetts history. 

"Brigham nurses are fighting corporate greed and standing up for their patients and profession as they negotiate a new contract with the hospital and Partners HealthCare," the MNA said in a statement. 

A date has not yet been set for the one-day strike, and will be decided by the union's 17-member collective bargaining unit at Brigham and Women's. The union will then plan for a 24-hour strike, unless the hospital agrees to a fair contract settlement by that date, according to the MNA statement.

Brigham and Women's plans to hire 700 temporary nurses to provide patient care during a potential strike, in addition to the 130 nurses and others on staff who are not part of the union. 

The hospital has proposed a contract that is fair, competitive, market-based and in line with operational and budgetary constraints, according to a statement from the hospital.

“The leadership team and the entire BWH community have the utmost respect for our nurses and the incredible care they deliver each day,” said Ron Walls, MD, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Brigham and Women’s Health Care in the press statement.

While the hospital's press statement emphasizes its interest in patient quality of care and a smooth transition, should a strike take place, the MNA's statement lays heavy on the nurses' training in specialized care areas, "ensuring the safety of some of the sickest patients in the region."

"Brigham nurses are irreplaceable," Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse and vice chair of the MNA's bargaining unit at Brigham's said in the union's statement. "Without these 3,300 nurses, the Brigham is inoperable."

Once the MNA's collective bargaining unit for Brigham and Women's decides a date for the strike, it must be announced to the public once the hospital has been given the 10-day notice required by law. 

As such, the strike could take place no sooner than June 24.