4,000 Nurses Face Strike Threat After Failed 15-Hour Session

Unionized nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital will begin an open-ended strike on Thursday, a date set by the Massachusetts Nurses Association to pressure hospital leadership into a new contract. The action follows a failed bargaining session on Monday that lasted more than 15 hours without producing an agreement. The strike is scheduled to start 48 hours after the marathon negotiation concluded.

The parties have been negotiating for roughly a year over a contract that expired in July. The core disputes involve compensation and workforce composition. The union seeks a cost-of-living adjustment for its approximately 4,000 members and a limit on the duration of assignments for privately hired travel nurses. Management counters that the hospital’s financial structure supports current pay scales and that agency staff are necessary for operational continuity.

Kelly Morgan, the union chair and a labor and delivery nurse, stated that the hospital understands its obligations to reach a deal. "MGB is aware of what they need to do to reach an agreement," Morgan said. "We hope MGB will return to the table to negotiate in good faith and meet the needs or nurses and patients." The union rejected the hospital’s final offer on Oct. 23 after a member vote. No further negotiation sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, though the union indicated it is ready to resume talks at any time before the walkout begins.

Mass General Brigham, the corporate parent of the hospital, said it remains open to discussions and is prepared to maintain safe, high-quality care during the strike. The health system aims to increase its operating margin to 1.5 percent of revenue, or $300 million, by Sept. 30, 2028. In fiscal 2025, the margin was 0.3 percent, or $59 million. To achieve this target, MGB began making unspecified layoffs and program changes last month.

The disagreement over wages centers on the definition of full-time work. MGB reports that full-time nurses working 40 hours a week start at $86,700 annually, rising to at least $220,000 after 20 years of service. The system noted that 1,322 nurses, or nearly one-third of the local union, currently earn that maximum amount. Morgan argued that most nurses work 36 hours or less and are classified as part-time, meaning they earn less than the figures cited by management. She also highlighted that MGB chief executive Anne Klibanski received nearly $9.2 million in 2024, a 9 percent increase from the previous year.

The union previously requested a 3 percent raise for the first six months of the contract and a 4 percent raise for the following 12 months. MGB has not offered an additional across-the-board increase, noting that nurses receive a 5 percent step increase on their hiring anniversary until they reach 20 years of service. A federal mediator has assisted in negotiations since April. If the strike proceeds, it will be the largest indefinite walkout by nurses in state history.

The second major point of contention involves travel nurses. The union wants to cap agency assignments at six months. Morgan stated that some travel nurses have worked at Brigham for five years, and the union wants the hospital to invest in permanent staff. Management says agency nurses account for slightly more than 1 percent of the nursing workforce, or fewer than 75 of the more than 4,000 employees. These private nurses are used to cover leaves of absence and periods of high patient volume.