Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (State House News Service) — Nurses returned to work at Brigham and Women's Hospital on Monday morning after their one-day strike last week turned into a five-day work stoppage, but the Massachusetts Nurses Association says the contract negotiation stalemate remains ongoing.
"If MGB refuses to bargain seriously, Brigham nurses will continue this fight with the same determination we have shown throughout our first strike and MGB's four-day lockout," said Kelly Morgan, who chairs the Brigham and Women's Hospital MNA Bargaining Committee. "We will persist until nurses are treated with the respect we deserve, and we secure a contract that protects safe, high-quality patient care."
The MNA posted a video on Facebook of Morgan leading a huge swarm of nurses back into the Brigham.
Mass General Brigham said Monday the transition for the 7 a.m. shift went "smoothly and successfully." Department of Public Health surveyors have been at the hospital daily and were on hand for the shift change, MGB said. Replacement nurses staffed the hospital for the last five days.
"BWH underwent careful and comprehensive planning to guarantee nursing coverage in every area of our hospital throughout the transition and ensure care for our patients and a safe and coordinated handoff for our nursing teams in the best interest of our patients and the care they trust us with," MGB said.
During the labor action, MGB and Brigham leaders said two patients received lung transplants and another patient had a heart transplant.
MGB said it's participated in more than 20 negotiation sessions with the MNA since November, including with a federal mediator. Nurses receive annual 5% raises as part of a 20-step wage scale, and MGB said it proposed a new 2.5% increase for nurses at the top step. Eleven nurses in the MNA bargaining unit earned more than $300,000 last year, according to MGB.
Brigham nurses say they want cost-of-living increases, more affordable health insurance, greater investment in permanent nurses rather than temporary staffing, and protections around patient care services.
"Tens of millions of people around the world watched our fight on television and social media. We are deeply grateful to every nurse, healthcare worker, elected official, patient, labor union, and community member who stood beside us," Morgan said. "Your support carried us through one of the most intense moments in Massachusetts nursing history."
More than 450 MGB Home Care clinicians are still on strike, and they plan to rally outside MGB headquarters in Somerville on Tuesday, the MNA said.
Written by Alison Kuznitz/State House News Service
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