Nearly 4,000 unionized nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital began voting Thursday on Mass General Brigham’s final contract offer. Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Friday. The result will show whether members accept the proposal or leave the dispute unresolved, with a strike still a possibility.
The vote comes after the nurses postponed an open-ended strike that had been scheduled for Oct. 14 so members could weigh in on the hospital’s latest proposal, according to The Boston Globe. If members reject the offer, the Massachusetts Nurses Association-represented union says it will have to reevaluate whether to proceed with the indefinite strike it had already authorized.
This isn’t the first time the two sides have clashed on the picket line. Brigham nurses held a one-day strike on July 8, followed by a four-day lockout imposed by MGB, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association. During any future strike, nurses would forgo pay and the hospital’s contribution to their health insurance premiums, per the Globe’s reporting.
Why the Offer Is Splitting the Union
Union leaders say the hospital’s final offer still does not address crucial disagreements over wages. The proposal, which the hospital has called its best and final offer and which would run through Sept. 30, 2028, would add a 2.5 percent increase at the highest salary level in the current wage scale, with another 2.5 percent increase effective Sept. 30, 2027, according to NBC10 Boston…