Contract negotiations scheduled with Brigham and Women’s nurses ahead of planned indefinite strike

Brigham and Women’s Hospital staff and nurses are headed back to the bargaining table Thursday in hopes of averting what would be a historic indefinite strike planned for Oct. 14.

The about 4,000 Brigham and Women’s nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association union, voted 93% to approve an open-ended strike scheduled to begin Oct. 14 last week, providing the hospital with the legally mandated 10-day strike notice.

The planned union action follows the BWH’s single-day strike and four-day lockout in July, which made history as the state’s largest nurses’ strike.

Just a week ahead of the scheduled work stoppage, which nurses say will last until a contract is reached, the sides agreed to meet Thursday to return to negotiations.

Brigham MNA Bargaining Committee Chair and labor nurse Kelly Morgan said the union will “make every effort to reach a fair contract.”

“Our preference is to avert the strike by negotiating an agreement that meets the needs of our patients and nurses,” said Morgan.

Mass General Brigham said in a statement to staff Wednesday that they “will continue working in good faith toward an agreement that recognizes the important contributions of our nurses while sustaining our ability to provide high-quality care for our patients.”

MGB spokesperson Jessica Pastore previously stated the hospital system is taking the strike notice “seriously” and is “fully prepared to continue providing safe, high-quality care for our patients throughout a strike.”

The stoppage would be an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike, as the union nurses filed their fourth federal unfair labor practice charge against the hospital on Friday. The charge accused the administration of changing nurses’ job descriptions and duties without fulfilling its legal obligation to bargain.