More than 4,000 registered nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston returned to patient care at 7 a.m. July 13, concluding what the Massachusetts Nurses Association called the largest nurse strike and work stoppage in Massachusetts history, according to health system and union statements.
1. Brigham nurses began a one-day strike July 8. The work stoppage ran five days through July 13 due to operational and staffing requirements. All scheduled nurses were back in the hospital shortly after 7 a.m. State Department of Public Health surveyors were on site daily throughout the stoppage to monitor care continuity, according to the statement from Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham, which owns Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
2. Nurses remain without a contract after more than eight months of bargaining. MGB said it has participated in more than 20 sessions with the MNA since November, including with a federal mediator, and that remaining unresolved issues are primarily economic.
3. The two sides remain apart on wages. MGB’s proposal includes a 5% annual step increase and a new 2.5% raise for nurses already at the top step beginning in October 2026 — a scale under which Mass General Brigham said 11 bargaining unit nurses earned more than $300,000 in 2025. The union contends the offer amounts to zero additional across-the-board increases beyond existing step raises.
4. Health insurance and temporary staffing remain sticking points. The union said MGB has not adequately addressed proposed insurance cost increases or its reliance on agency nurses. Mass General Brigham said there are no patient or workplace safety issues currently on the bargaining table.
5. About 450 MGB Home Care clinicians remain on strike through July 15, seeking their first union contract after more than a year of negotiations. A public end-of-strike rally is scheduled for 2 p.m. July 14 outside Mass General Brigham headquarters.
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