Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and hospital management were scheduled to resume contract talks Monday, Nov. 9, three days before more than 4,000 nurses plan an open-ended strike, the Boston Herald and Mass General Brigham said. The Massachusetts Nurses Association said the walkout will begin at 7 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, if no deal is reached.
Related: 4,000 Brigham Nurses Set Open-Ended Strike for Nov. 12 as Talks Resume Nov. 9.
What the two sides still dispute
Mass General Brigham said the remaining issues relate to compensation and benefits, including wages and health insurance. The system said no patient or workplace safety proposals remain unresolved.
The union described the open issues more broadly. It said it is seeking limits on temporary nurses and a float differential to reduce how often nurses move between patient assignments, the Herald reported. Health insurance and the wage scale are also on the union’s list.
The hospital’s last, best and final offer was presented Oct. 10, and nurses rejected it. Under that offer, nurses at the top of the pay scales would receive a new 2.5% raise in each year of a two-year contract, the hospital said. Nurses still moving through the 20-step scale would keep their 5% annual raises.
The hospital disputed a union characterization of the offer. “Despite union claims, Brigham nurses would not receive a 0% raise in this contract offer,” the hospital said in a Nov. 6 update.
Union takes its campaign to board members’ businesses
Nurses leafleted Sunday, Nov. 8, outside THL Partners and the ‘Quin House social club, the Herald reported. The union identified both as businesses connected to Mass General Brigham board members.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association said the action was meant to draw attention to the board’s role in the dispute and to what it called potential conflicts of interest. The union said Mass General Brigham board chair Scott Sperling is co-chief executive of THL Partners. It said THL previously invested in US Nursing, which the hospital hired to replace nurses during the July strike.
The union also said a law firm it hired has asked the state attorney general to investigate the system’s nonprofit status.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry showed support for the union before entering the ‘Quin House, the Herald reported. Kerry’s appearance is unconfirmed beyond the Herald’s account.
The union said Mass General Brigham is the most profitable hospital system in the state, with $2.3 billion in profits and $35 billion in assets. It also cited $9.2 million in compensation for the system’s chief executive.
What patients have been told
Brigham and Women’s Hospital will stay open during a strike, the hospital said. Temporary nurses will join existing care teams, and the hospital said most of them worked during the July stoppage.
The strike would not include Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital or Massachusetts General Hospital, according to the Nov. 6 update. Patients should arrive for scheduled appointments unless their provider tells them otherwise, the hospital said. State Department of Public Health surveyors will be on site daily, it said.
What happens next
A federal mediator was expected to join Monday’s session, NBC10 Boston reported. The talks come as the health system carries out a second round of layoffs in less than two years. More local employer coverage is on the Boston business news page and the Health and Science hub.
Sources
- Boston Herald: Brigham and Women’s nurses, administration to return to bargaining table as strike looms
- Mass General Brigham: Brigham and Women’s Hospital nursing union update, Nov. 6
- Mass General Brigham: Brigham and Women’s Hospital nursing union update, Nov. 1
- Massachusetts Nurses Association: Brigham nurses and supporters to leaflet outside board member sites
- NBC10 Boston: Brigham nurses issue new strike notice after latest offer falls flat
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