{"id":413617,"date":"2026-04-27T18:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T18:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/413617\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T18:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T18:23:08","slug":"boston-medical-center-south-strike-postponed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/413617\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston Medical Center – South strike postponed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unions at Boston Medical Center – South in Brockton<\/a>, a former Steward Health Care hospital, have delayed their strike plans amid ongoing negotiations with the health system, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The MNA, the state\u2019s largest nurses union, and 1199 Service Employees International Union, which represents a range of different health care workers, had each planned to strike later this week over staffing levels, pay, and health insurance at the hospital formerly known as Good Samaritan Medical Center. <\/p>\n

The MNA strike, originally scheduled to begin April 30, was set to last three days. The 1199 SEIU had scheduled a one-day strike for May 1. New strike dates have not yet been announced, but under state law, health care unions must give notice 10 days in advance of any strikes to allow hospitals to minimize disruptions to patient care. <\/p>\n

That changed after some progress was made at the negotiating table last week, said MNA spokesperson David Schildmeier. Boston Medical Center and the MNA will reconvene on April 28 to discuss the rest of the contract. <\/p>\n

\u201cLocal officials who became involved in the process asked if we would be willing to hold off on the strike to allow for more fruitful negotiations this week,\u201d Schildmeier said. \u201cOf course we agreed and go to the table tomorrow hopeful that BMC will work with us in good faith to achieve a settlement that is fair to all concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston Medical Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a rough few years for BMC – South. Its bankrupt former owner left hospitals without adequate supplies or staffing, a Boston Globe investigation found<\/a>. Boston Medical Center took over the hospital and another Steward location<\/a>, the former St. Elizabeth\u2019s Hospital in Brighton, in October 2024. <\/p>\n

The hospitals needed millions in repairs, including replacing an old medical record system and fixing broken elevators. At the same time, the medical centers saw their patient flows decrease, BMC officials previously told the Globe<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Workers at BMC South said they\u2019ve been short-staffed and underpaid. The union negotiations have been disheartening, especially after everything the staff has been through between the pandemic, Steward\u2019s collapse, and a devastating fire that temporarily closed nearby Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital in 2023, said certified nursing assistant and 1199 SEIU representative Kia Ruiz. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been there,\u201d Ruiz said in an interview before the strike was postponed. \u201cWe stood, and this is what we\u2019re going to get in return.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodney Mohammad, a biomedical lead and member of the 1199 SEIU bargaining unit, has worked at BMC – South for 23 years maintaining clinical equipment like defibrillators and vital monitoring systems. This is the first time in his career the union called a strike vote.<\/p>\n

The negotiations are stuck on wages, Mohammad said. Currently, some employees receive 2 percent pay increases annually, which hasn\u2019t kept pace with rising prices, Mohammad said. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have been here a long time, have been dedicated to this location for a lot of years,\u201d Mohammad said. \u201cWe feel like we need to get at least a wage increase that reflects cost of living.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the strike has been postponed, it\u2019s not off the table in the future, said 1199 SEIU spokesperson Marlishia Aho.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are unable to come to an agreement, a strike still remains an option to help ensure caregivers remain in the jobs they love and are able to care for the patients they serve,\u201d Aho said. <\/p>\n

Marin Wolf can be reached at marin.wolf@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unions at Boston Medical Center – South in Brockton, a former Steward Health Care hospital, have delayed their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[5576,163,521,85,181917,46,181918,181919],"class_list":["post-413617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-boston","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-il","tag-informational-picket","tag-israel","tag-massachusetts-general-hospital-cq","tag-mgb-home-care-cq"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}