Brigham and Women's Nurses Vote Down Hospital's Final Contract Offer

Nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston voted on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 to turn down the hospital's contract proposal, the Boston Herald reported. The Massachusetts Nurses Association asked the hospital to restart bargaining during the week of Oct. 26, and the union declined to disclose how the vote broke down.

The hospital had presented the package as its final offer. A spokeswoman, Jessica Pastore, said in a statement that management was disappointed but focused on patient care and able to keep services running whatever the union decides. According to the hospital, the proposal raised base pay for every nurse, with increases totaling 5% over two years through new top steps or 10% over two years through the existing step scale.

Julia Mason, the hospital's chief nursing officer, told staff on the evening of Oct. 23 that the rejection does not automatically lead to a walkout and that the union's bargaining committee would decide what follows.

Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse who chairs the union's bargaining committee at the hospital, said the result showed nurses' "resolve."

The union, which represents more than 4,000 nurses at the hospital, had set a strike for Oct. 14 but called it off after talks resumed on Oct. 10 so members could vote. Nurses struck for five days in July, when the hospital used temporary travel nurses.

This story was first reported by Boston Herald.