About 4,000 nurses and another 450 home care clinicians launched a strike Wednesday morning after months of bargaining with employer Mass General Brigham failed to yield a contract deal.
The nurses’ demonstration, quarterbacked by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, was scheduled for a single day, but due to the minimum duration of temporary worker contracts signed by the health system will be followed by a four-day lockout. The home care workers—nurses, therapists, social workers and other clinicians who are also represented by the union—will be striking for a full week.
The nurses say their demonstration is the largest in Massachusetts’ history, and a first for Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a flagship hospital in the MGB system where the striking nurses are employed.
MGB and the union have been bargaining on the nurses’ contracts since last November, with the prior agreement expiring on March 31. Alongside demands for more affordable health insurance options and commitments to maintaining certain services lines, the nurses have asked for “competitive wage increases” they say are necessary to maintain sufficient staffing levels and offset substantial cost of living increases in the Bay State.
“MGB has spent years disrespecting nurses and ignoring our safety concerns,” Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse and chair of the bargaining committee for the Brigham and Women’s nurses, said in a Wednesday statement. “Executives have refused for months to invest in nurses, instead making proposals that would make it harder to recruit and retain nurses. We are standing up for our patients, our profession, and the future of care at the Brigham.”
MGB, in statements and online materials discussing the negotiations, said it has reached tentative agreements with the union on 16 items for the nurses’ contracts, including items related to scheduling, vacation policy and the use of certain technologies.
The system said it has offered a 2.5 percentage point increase in monthly premium contributions for those enrolled in its main health plan option, or $10 more per week for individual coverage and $25 per week more for family coverage. That offer, MGB said, “remains extremely competitive compared to individual and family coverage offered locally and nationally, with nurses continuing to receive generous support with low premiums and deductibles.”
On pay, the nurses have asked for a 3% raise during the new contract’s first six months and a 4% raise for the following 12 months. MGB said it has proposed to continue a 5% annual “step increase” and for those at the top of its 20-step wage scale a new step with a 2.5% increase. It also noted a 3% across-the-board increase nurses across its pay scale received last October.
MGB, in its messaging on the negotiations, said that the union’s ask would increase Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s overall operating costs by 3.4%, threating to surpass a cost growth benchmark that was imposed on the system by the state. It also contended that its spending on nurse labor has greatly outpaced the hospital’s revenue growth since the 2023 fiscal year.
“Due to the size of our existing investment and the financial challenges of our industry, going beyond an annual 5% raise at this time is not financially sustainable and not supported by the current labor market,” MGB said.
The home care clinicians are seeking their first contract with the system, which they hope would include similar wage increase commitments plus caseload limits and transparent productivity standards. They have been pursuing such an arrangement for over a year.
“Safe home care depends on clinicians having manageable caseloads so we can provide patients with the time and attention they deserve,” Kara Wilson, a home care occupational therapist and a bargaining committee member, said in a Tuesday statement. “We urge MGB to return to negotiations and work on a path toward settlement.”
MGB, in an FAQ, said it has held 30 negotiation sessions to date that yielded over 20 tentative agreements.
“We have also proposed changes on overtime, enhanced on-call territory pay, and wages, including new or improved pay scales,” the notice reads. ”We believe our offer recognizes the essential contributions of our Home Care clinicians, offering highly competitive pay that maintains their position at the top of the local market.”
MGB said it plans to maintain care continuity through both demonstrations, and that it would be contacting patients directly for any changes to scheduled appointments at the hospital. For home care, “the most acute needs” will be met by the temporary clinicians while “some ancillary services, such as dietician and speech language therapy appointments, will be paused.”
MGB is the largest private employer in Massachusetts with roughly 85,000 workers and among the country’s largest nonprofit health systems by operating revenue. It reported a narrow $59.2 million operating gain (0.3% operating margin) during its prior fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2025, but has flipped to the other side of zero so far in its ongoing fiscal year. Early last year saw the organization undertake the largest layoffs in its history, when it cut about 1,500 workers.
The dispute has garnered attention from state leaders. Governor Maura Healey convened representatives from the two sides on Monday that did not yield an immediate compromise. A slew of other prominent Democrats—Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Stephen Lynch and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu—released a joint statement on Tuesday calling for the sides to find common ground.
“Nurses are the backbone of our health care system, and we rely on their skills, compassion, and tireless work ethic to care for our loved ones,” their statement read. “The nurses at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Mass General Brigham Homecare deserve a fair contract that reflects the essential contributions they make each and every day. We urge all parties to return to the bargaining table and reach a good faith agreement that provides stability for this critical workforce, Mass General Brigham, and the patients in their collective care.”