Even as MGB pays its CEO $9.2 million and makes nearly $3 billion in profits, it refuses to bargain without preconditions, potentially forcing the largest nurses' strike in MA history

BOSTON, Oct. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), representing approximately 4,000 Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses, filed a fourth federal unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against the hospital on Friday, October 2, stating that management changed nurses' job descriptions and duties without fulfilling its legal obligation to bargain.

The charge states that the hospital has "unilaterally changed job descriptions and job duties of myriad bargaining unit nurses without first satisfying its duty to bargain over these changes with the Charging Party." The latest filing adds to three previous charges:

• Nurses filed a ULP against BWH for illegally preventing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses from exercising their federally protected right to participate in the Brigham nurses' strike on July 8, 2026.
• Nurses filed a ULP against BWH for illegally retaliating against nurses for exercising their federally protected right to participate in the July strike by changing their schedules.
• Nurses filed a ULP against BWH for threatening disciplinary action against nurses if they did not remove their union buttons.

Brigham nurses have scheduled an open-ended unfair labor practice strike beginning at 7 a.m. on October 14, protesting the hospital's unlawful conduct and demanding a fair contract that protects patient care, strengthens the permanent nursing workforce and provides affordable health insurance. ULP strikes offer greater protection, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Nurses delivered the required 10-day strike notice on October 2.

"Mass General Brigham cannot simply rewrite nurses' jobs and bypass their elected union representatives," said Kelly Morgan, RN, a labor and delivery nurse and Chair of the BWH MNA Bargaining Committee. "Our job duties shape the care we provide and the conditions under which we provide it. Brigham nurses have a legally protected voice in those decisions. This fourth charge further reflects how the billionaires are running MGB focused on corporate greed rather than nurses and patients. We will defend our rights and our patients. If forced, we will strike until we secure a new contract and resolve the unfair labor practices that have contributed to our decision to strike."

"Nurses should be able to advocate for our patients, wear our union buttons and exercise our right to strike without interference or retaliation," said Jim McCarthy, RN, a PACU nurse and Vice Chair of the BWH MNA Bargaining Committee. "We are standing together because protecting patient care also means protecting the nurses who speak up for it. MGB must respect our rights and return to the table to negotiate a fair agreement without preconditions that protects patients and respects nurses."

Nurses Continue Calling on MGB to Negotiate and Avert the Strike

Brigham nurses overwhelmingly authorized the open-ended strike on September 24, voting 2,986 to 215 in favor. The vote followed their July 8 one-day strike, MGB's subsequent four-day lockout, and unsuccessful bargaining sessions in July and August.

The nurses' elected bargaining committee has repeatedly offered to meet at any date, time or place, on or off the record, and through a mediator. MGB has conditioned further negotiations on nurses first accepting major concessions, including a multi-year pay freeze.

Nurses are seeking limits on reliance on temporary nurses, affordable health insurance with meaningful plan choice, a cost-of-living wage increase and a differential for nurses required to float among units.

Mass General Brigham is the largest and wealthiest health system in New England. In fiscal year 2025, MGB reported:

• $22.8 billion in operating revenue.
• $2.39 billion in profits.
• $1.75 billion in investment income.
• $35.8 billion in total assets.
• Nearly $9.2 million in compensation for CEO Anne Klibanski, which is a 9% increase of approximately $800,000 in one year.

MGB's Board of Directors includes billionaires, private equity executives and corporate CEOs, including individuals whose businesses intersect with the healthcare system. Read the MNA's report on MGB's wealth, power, and board conflicts. Should MGB be a non-profit?

• Scott Sperling, MGB Board Chair, is co-CEO of private equity giant THL Partners, which invests heavily in healthcare and technology.
• John Fish, Board Vice Chair, leads Suffolk Construction, which has received major MGB-related construction work, including MGB's $465 million headquarters.
• Jonathan Kraft, Board Vice Chair, oversees the Kraft family's multibillion-dollar business empire, including property at Patriot Place leased to MGB.

MGB's enormous financial resources make clear that it can afford fair contracts that protect patients, maintain stable workforces and respect the professionals who deliver care.

Learn more at www.massnurses.org/MGB.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 26,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association