Brigham nurses and Mass General Brigham go back to the table Nov. 9. The council has gone on record three times
Nurses rejected the hospital system's 'last, best and final' offer last month. Council resolutions on the dispute passed without a no vote, though they carry no legal weight.
Contract talks between Mass General Brigham and the nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital will restart Nov. 9 with a federal mediator, NBC Boston reported, citing a Mass General Brigham spokesperson quoted by the State House News Service. The Brigham is one of the city's largest employers and hospitals, and a long strike would touch patients and workers across Boston.
Where the dispute stands
- The offer. Mass General Brigham called its proposal its "last, best and final" offer. It kept the existing wage scale, added annual 5% step increases until nurses reach 20 years of service, and created two new 2.5% top steps, NBC Boston reported. The Massachusetts Nurses Association says it left out the cost-of-living raises the union wants.
- The vote. Nurses voted Oct. 22 and 23 to reject the offer, the union said. It did not release a tally.
- Strikes. About 4,000 nurses walked off the job in July, when a planned one-day strike became a five-day work stoppage, according to NBC Boston. A strike planned for Oct. 14 was postponed so nurses could vote on the offer. Any new strike would require a new 10-day notice.
- The other hospital. Nearly 2,000 nurses at Boston Medical Center ratified a three-year contract earlier in October, avoiding a strike there, NBC Boston reported.
Union spokesperson Joe Markman urged the hospital system to "negotiate in good faith on the 9th," according to NBC Boston.
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What our records show
The city is not a party to the talks, and council resolutions do not bind anyone. They put the council on record. This year it has adopted three resolutions about the Brigham dispute and the related one at Boston Medical Center, none with a no vote.
- April 29: support for Brigham nurses. City Councilor Ed Flynn filed docket 0885, co-sponsored by City Councilor Sharon Durkan, whose district includes the Longwood Medical Area. It passed 11-0. City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata was not present and City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune was absent.
- July 22: support for BMC nurses. Flynn's docket 1428 passed 11-0, with Coletta Zapata and City Councilor Henry Santana absent. During the debate, Louijeune said she had joined nurses on the picket line at the Brigham two weeks earlier (watch at 2:37:36). City Councilor Benjamin Weber said that, as someone who had represented thousands of nurses seeking fair wages, he thought it was a shame such vital workers had to strike (watch at 2:39:00).
- Oct. 7: a call to return to bargaining. Flynn's docket 1921 urged the Mass General Brigham board to "return to the table and negotiate in good-faith in light of historic strikes and lockout." It passed 12-0, with Council President Liz Breadon absent. Every other councilor signed on as a sponsor.
A fourth resolution, filed by Louijeune in September, backed resident physicians at Boston Medical Center in their contract talks. It passed 13-0 (docket 1806).
What's next
Bargaining resumes Monday, Nov. 9. If talks fail, the union would have to give 10 days' notice before any new strike. The council's next regular meetings are Nov. 4 and Nov. 18; there is no meeting Nov. 11, Veterans Day, according to the council's 2026 schedule.