Brigham
nurses voted on July 24 to authorize
their MNA Bargaining Committee to hold a one-day strike if MGB
executives refuse to agree to a fair contract that invests in
nurses to improve patient safety
BOSTON, July 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The nearly 4,000 Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses,
represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), voted in
overwhelming numbers on July 24 to
authorize a one-day strike as nurses negotiate a contract to
address the hospital's ongoing failure to recruit and retain the
nurses necessary for safe patient care and quality working
conditions.
Brigham nurses' successful
strike vote comes after they held an informational picket, brought
in a federal mediator, and held 28 bargaining sessions over 10
months. The vote does not mean a strike will automatically take
place. The BWH MNA Bargaining Committee will schedule a strike, if
necessary, based on how management proceeds in negotiations
following the vote. If a strike is scheduled, the committee must
provide at least 10 days' notice. Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital nurses
are also voting on July 25 to
authorize a one-day strike.
"I am incredibly proud of Brigham nurses for standing up for their
patients and nursing practice with this strike vote," said
Kelly Morgan, a Brigham labor and delivery nurse and BWH MNA
Chair. "We do not want to have to strike but are prepared to
act if MGB executives keep putting patient safety at risk by not
investing in our nursing workforce. We cannot continue caring for
patients under these conditions, and the hospital cannot operate
without its nurses."
"Nurses have been telling us for months they are willing to
strike to protect their patients and each other. Today MGB
executives heard loud and clear Brigham nurses are united!" said
Jim McCarthy, a PACU nurse and BWH
MNA Vice Chair. "While Brigham nurses fight for a competitive
contract, executives are making millions in bonuses every year. We
care for extremely sick and injured patients under the threat of
violence without enough staff. MGB should be investing in nurses to
make the Brigham safer for
everyone."
Nurses are Fighting for:
- Improved staffing and patient care.
- The strike vote comes amid negotiations for a new contract, but
the overall challenges faced by nurses are driving their
actions.
- In open meetings attended by 1,000+ nurses and in organizing
conversations with thousands more, Brigham nurses have expressed grave concern
over inadequate staffing levels and their impact on patient
safety.
- A competitive wage increase will help address
widespread understaffing which puts patients and nurses at
risk.
- Health insurance choice.
- Brigham nurses are
dissatisfied with MGB health insurance. Many nurses are forced to
use the insurance and experience long wait times for appointments
and imaging, as well as out-of-network costs.
- Nurses have delivered a petition signed by more than 3,200
nurses demanding the option to change insurance plans during annual
enrollment.
- Management has refused to provide permanent choice.
- As part of their advocacy, nurses launched a series of videos
expressing dissatisfaction with Mass General Brigham (MGB) health
insurance and demanding better
choice: https://www.massnurses.org/BrighamInsurance.
- A fair and market-competitive wage increase.
- BWH has historically been a leader in acute care hospital
wages.
- Recently, other hospitals have offered similar if not higher
wages, impacting BWH's ability to recruit and retain
nurses.
- Management refuses to even match the recent wage settlement
of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Brigham would fall even further behind and
continue to face recruitment and retention problems.
MGB's Wealth:
- BWH routinely makes enormous profits, including $108.7 million in the fiscal year-to-date period
ending June 30, 2023, and
$123 million in FY2022, according to
CHIA. System-wide, MGB made $81.6
million in profits in the first quarter of FY2024.
- 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