Faulkner nurses are organizing toward a
potential one-day strike because MGB refuses to properly value the
excellent patient care Faulkner nurses provide under extremely
challenging conditions
BOSTON, July 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The approximately 500 registered
nurses of Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, represented by the
Massachusetts Nurses Association, will vote on July 25 to authorize a potential one-day strike.
Nurses are preparing for a strike because after months of
negotiations, Mass General Brigham refuses to provide Faulkner
nurses wage parity with Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses, and
thereby is failing to address longstanding unsafe staffing and
patient safety issues.
"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."
"We don't want to strike but are prepared to act out of concern
for the safety of our patients and the health of our nursing
workforce," said Kathy
Glennon, a Faulkner RN and Co-Chair of the MNA
Bargaining Committee. "The wage disparity between Brigham and
the Faulkner is a significant drag on our ability to keep nurses at
the Faulkner and overcome the many challenges of our current
healthcare system."
A positive strike vote will give the nurses elected to the
Faulkner MNA Bargaining Committee authorization to hold a one-day
strike if necessary. A strike date has not been selected. If
scheduled, that date will be announced to the public once the
hospital has been given the 10-day notice required by law. Faulkner
nurses would then plan to hold a 24-hour strike unless Faulkner
agreed to a fair contract by that date.
Why Faulkner Nurses Deserve Brigham Wage Parity
Nurses at Faulkner Hospital currently make significantly less
than nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The top step of the
Faulkner salary scale is $78.85. The
top step at BWH is $86.95. That is
nearly a 10% difference in pay. Faulkner's beginning step is
$32.54. BWH's beginning step is
$36.04. Yet MGB treats the Faulkner
like it is part of the Brigham. Faulkner patient care and working
conditions are just as challenging, and the hospital has dozens of
vacant nursing positions.
- MGB promotes Faulkner using the BWH name. In press releases and
announcements, it uses the term "the Brigham family."
-
- In September 2023, the hospital celebrated the 25-year
relationship between Faulkner and BWH by saying, "This integration
has allowed BWFH to become vitally important to the work of the
Brigham family…"
- Faulkner and Brigham's internal medicine residency
program, general surgery program, and surgical chief resident
rotation have been integrated for more than 20 years.
- Faulkner is home to numerous BWH institutions, including
the BWH Comprehensive Spine Center, the BWH Sleep Medicine and
Endocrinology Center and the BWH Department of Orthopedic
Surgery.
- Many staff who work at the Faulkner are employed by BWH,
including at physician offices and the Mohs and Dermatologic
Surgery Center.
- The Brigham pays nurses the BWH MNA salary scale at other
off-site locations, including the BWH Health Care Center 850
Boylston St. and the joint BWH/MGH health center in
Foxborough.
- In some cases, management oversees Faulkner staff from offices
at the Brigham, including a Brigham-based director who
supervises Faulkner operating room assistants and Samantha Rowley, Vice President of Perioperative
Services.
- BWH is even sending robots to Faulkner! A surgical robot has
been accompanied by related cases coming from the Brigham.
MGB Financial Highlights
- MGB made $579 million system-wide
in profits during the fiscal period ending December 31, 2023, according to the Center for
Health Information and Analysis. Faulkner Hospital made
$9.5 million in profits during that
period.
- Anne Klibanski, MGB's president and CEO, made a nearly
25% salary increase from 2020 to 2021, going from
$4.3 million to more than
$5 million.
- MGB is spending $2
billion expanding Mass General Hospital and Faulkner
Hospital. This follows construction of a $465 million HQ in Somerville and a reported $100 million rebranding campaign.
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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