‘Unsafe’: Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital vote to authorize strike

BOSTON — Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital will go on strike.

Hundreds voted to authorize a strike Thursday night, saying they are concerned about salaries, staffing shortages, and safety.

The nurses will have to give the hospital a ten-day notice before they go on the one-day strike. This is the second vote this week by nurses to authorize a strike.

Thousands at the Brigham voted Wednesday to strike if Mass General Brigham doesn’t meet their demands for their next contract.

Now the 500 nurses at Faulkner Hospital have done the same.

Mass General Brigham said they’ve been negotiating with the Massachusetts Nursing Association for nearly a year now – since last August – and they have been making progress on several issues including workplace safety.

But nurses at Faulkner said they’re paid less while facing challenges similar to those faced by Brigham.

Mass General Brigham said “Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital is licensed as a community hospital, with lower reimbursements from the insurance carriers and less specialized care. The nursing salary scales reflect these differences.

“We are having a lot of trouble retaining staff, leading to a lot of staffing shortages and unsafe situations at the hospital, and part of the reason is that nurses leave to make more money elsewhere,” said Elisa Hurley, a nurse at Faulkner Hospital.

She continued, “Even though we do worry about the impact on the patients that striking would have, the goal is that in the long term, it would help us provide better care and a better environment for them.”

Before nurses voted in favor of the strike, Mass General Brigham said that should the strike happen, they are positioned to continue to provide the same high-quality care that patients expect.

Although the nurses voted to strike, both sides could still come to an agreement – to avoid the strike altogether.

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