The Massachusetts Nurses Association said the walkout, alongside a separate MGB Home Care strike, would mark the largest nurse and healthcare professional strike in Massachusetts history.
More than 4,000 registered nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital are set to begin a one-day strike on July 8, followed by a four-day lockout imposed by Mass General Brigham, while about 450 MGB Home Care clinicians will start a seven-day strike the same day. The Massachusetts Nurses Association said the actions amount to the largest nurse and healthcare professional strike in Massachusetts history and blamed Mass General Brigham's board and executives for failing to reach agreements after months of negotiations. In a July 3 letter, bargaining committee leaders Kelly Morgan, RN, and Jim McCarthy, RN, told Board Chairman Scott Sperling and other board members that management had held to a 0% cost of living wage offer for months and refused to improve proposals or continue bargaining ahead of the strike. The union also said MGB Home Care clinicians, who voted to unionize in June 2024 and have been bargaining since March 2025 for a first contract, are seeking caseload limits, transparent productivity standards, and competitive pay. Governor Maura Healey met representatives of the union and Mass General Brigham on Monday, where the union said nurses and clinicians expressed willingness to keep bargaining to avoid a strike while MGB executives did not signal movement from prior positions. The union contrasted management's stance with MGB's reported $35.8 billion in assets, $2.4 billion in net gains last year, and $35.9 million in combined compensation for its top 14 executives in fiscal 2024, arguing the dispute reflects management priorities rather than financial constraints.