BOSTON — More than 4,000 nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are expected to hit the picket lines beginning Tuesday morning after their union authorized a one-day strike amid an ongoing contract dispute over wages and benefits.
While the strike itself is scheduled for one day, nurses are expected to be locked out for a total of five days as the hospital brings in temporary replacement staff and provides training on hospital policies and procedures.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association says its members have been working without a contract since March 31 and have not received raises under the proposed agreement. Hospital officials dispute that characterization, saying nurses continue to receive annual 5% step increases in pay and received a 3% across-the-board wage increase in October.
In preparation for what the MNA described as the “largest nurse and healthcare professional strike in Massachusetts history,” Brigham and Women’s has brought in temporary nurses to ensure patient care continues uninterrupted. Hospital leaders have emphasized that patients will continue to receive high-quality care throughout the strike.
Stella Scata, whose son has spent the last 95 days in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, said nurses have played a critical role in her family’s journey.
“They’re the reason he is here. The nurse that helped us during delivery, the nurses that helped me postpartum, the nurses that are there every single day — they really made a difference, and they’re the reason our son is alive,” Scata said.
Scata’s son is expected to be discharged this week, but she said she worries about other families who will rely on temporary nurses during the strike period.
According to the union, representatives asked hospital officials to return to the bargaining table before the strike begins, but no additional negotiations were scheduled.
The strike is set to begin at 7 a.m. Tuesday outside Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
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