Overview
- The roughly 4,000-member Brigham nurses bargaining unit voted to reject the hospital system’s “best and final” offer in a two-day vote that concluded late Friday.
- Union leaders said the offer failed to deliver the across-the-board cost-of-living raises nurses sought and did not resolve core wage disputes.
- Mass General Brigham defended the proposal as balancing pay and long-term affordability and pointed to automatic annual step increases and posted pay ranges as part of compensation.
- If the union chooses to authorize an open-ended strike, labor rules require giving the hospital at least a 10-day notice before nurses walk out, a gap that would allow both sides time to resume talks.
- The vote returns a bargaining fight that has lasted about eight months and included a one-day July strike and a four-day lockout tied to use of temporary replacement nurses, all unfolding while the health system is cutting costs and making layoffs.