Nearly 4,000 Brigham nurses set open-ended strike for Oct. 14, the largest in Massachusetts history

Nearly 4,000 nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston will begin an open-ended strike on Wednesday, Oct. 14, unless their union and Mass General Brigham reach a contract agreement first. The Massachusetts Nurses Association delivered the required 10-day strike notice on Friday, Oct. 2.

The union says it would be the largest open-ended nurse strike in Massachusetts history. The union’s announcement said nurses voted 2,986 to 215 in favor of the strike on Sept. 24. The union represents the nurses at the Brigham, and Mass General Brigham is the hospital system that employs them.

“4,000 Brigham nurses are prepared to hold an open-ended strike because we are dedicated to our patients and united for a fair contract,” said Kelly Morgan, a registered nurse and the chair of the bargaining committee.

A stalled negotiation

The vote follows a one-day strike at the Brigham on July 8, which was followed by a four-day lockout, according to the union. The association says bargaining stalled after that. It says Mass General Brigham, the hospital system that owns the Brigham, made further talks conditional on the nurses accepting a multi-year pay freeze, and that the union rejected the condition. The union says attempts to resume bargaining in July and August did not succeed.

The nurses are asking for cost-of-living raises, affordable health insurance with a choice of plans, float differentials and limits on the use of temporary nurses. The Boston Globe reported that the union is seeking a 3 percent raise for the first six months and a 4 percent raise over the following 12 months.

The union’s statement cites Mass General Brigham’s finances. It says the system reported $2.39 billion in profit in fiscal 2025, on $22.8 billion in operating revenue and $35.8 billion in total assets. The Globe reported that the system’s chief executive, Anne Klibanski, received a 9 percent raise and earned nearly $9.2 million.

The hospital’s position

Mass General Brigham told the Globe it is “fully prepared to manage through one, regardless of its duration.” The system said Brigham nurses are “among the highest paid locally and nationally,” with pay ranging from a starting salary of $86,700 to $220,000 for nurses with 20 years of service.

The Globe reported that the system has contracted with the staffing firm US Nursing to supply 1,300 temporary nurses, and that most of them have agreed to return. During the July strike, according to the Globe, the hospital kept operating normally and performed a successful heart transplant.

The July 8 walkout lasted one day, and the lockout that followed lasted four days. The strike now scheduled for Oct. 14 has no set end date, and the union filed the notice as an unfair labor practice strike, the classification it submitted to the hospital on Oct. 2.

Patients and the strike

The Brigham is one of the busiest hospitals in the region. According to the Globe, it handles more than 2,000 outpatient visits and discharges about 130 patients every day, and it delivered more than 7,200 babies in 2025. The Globe reported that pregnant patients and their families have raised concerns about continuity of care if the strike goes ahead.