MNA nurses at Brigham and Women's and Faulkner hospitals are
voting to authorize one-day strikes because MGB refuses to provide
fair contracts that will address understaffing and safety
problems
BOSTON, July 23,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In what may precipitate an
historic labor action by Boston-based MNA nurses, the combined
4,500 nurses of Brigham and
Women's Hospital and Brigham and
Women's Faulkner Hospital, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses
Association (MNA), will vote on July
24 and 25 to authorize one-day strikes as nurses negotiate
contracts aimed at addressing unsafe staffing and patient care
concerns.
- Brigham nurses will vote
July 24 to authorize a one-day
strike. Mass General Brigham has failed to address unsustainable
and unsafe working conditions imperiling patient care and harming
nurses, including during the last negotiation session on
July 16. Click here for more
details.
- Faulkner nurses will vote July 25
to authorize a one-day strike. MGB refuses to provide Faulkner
nurses wage parity with Brigham
nurses, thereby failing to address longstanding unsafe staffing and
patient safety issues, including during the last negotiation
session on July 22. Click here for more details.
If nurses at either or both hospitals authorize a one-day
strike, that does not mean a strike will automatically take place.
The BWH and Faulkner MNA Bargaining Committees will schedule
strikes, if necessary, based on how management proceeds in
negotiations following the vote. If a strike is scheduled, the
committees must provide at least 10 days' notice.
"We take a strike at the Brigham extremely seriously,"
said Kelly Morgan, a Brigham labor and delivery nurse and BWH MNA
Chair. "MGB executives have forced the hand of Brigham nurses by taking advantage of our
dedication to our patients. We care for extremely sick and injured
patients without the right equipment, in crowded hallways, through
mold and insect infestations, and under the constant threat of
violence. Yet these executives – who pay themselves handsomely –
refuse to respect Brigham nurses
enough to settle a fair contract."
"MGB executives have long treated Faulkner Hospital like a part
of Brigham and Women's Hospital
but refuse to compensate us equally and ensure Faulkner has the
nurses needed for safe patient care," said Dan Rec, a Faulkner RN and Co-Chair of the MNA
Bargaining Committee. "We are concerned about the damaging
cycle of Faulkner nurses receiving lower pay than the Brigham, making retention and recruitment
difficult, and leading to understaffing, danger, and stress."
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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the
largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members
advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of
nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of
nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view
of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies
on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association