Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain have voted to authorize a strike. The near unanimous vote means that thousands of nurses could hit the picket line for a one-day strike.
Hundreds of nurses at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood voted to authorize a one-day strike.
For 10 months, they have been negotiating with Mass General Brigham leaders for a new contract but ultimately, the two sides are still far apart.
"Progress has been made on several topics and we have presented a fair, equitable proposal. our focus remains on supporting our nurses while providing high-quality, safe care for our patients," a Mass General Brigham spokesperson said in a statement.
However, if the nurses plan on striking, the hospital will still be able to provide quality care to their patients, according to the spokesperson.
Another negotiation meeting is set for the end of the next month. If that leads to nothing, a date will be set for the strike.
The nurses are primarily asking for higher wages that brings them in line with the rest of the nurses in the MGB system. They are also asking that safety measures be put in place for both them and the patients.
"We got a 99.7 percent. We only had one vote that was negative, so we are ecstatic to tell management that we are strong as a union," said Dan Rec, registered nurse at Faulkner Hospital and co-chair MNA Bargaining Unit. "I'm hoping it does not lead to a strike, but there is still that potential there we still are very far apart on wages and from other things that they want to still take away."
A day prior to the Faulkner vote, nurses at Brigham and Women's Boston voted to authorize a one-day strike of their own. They return to their negotiation table Aug. 8.
