\u201cYour decision is not based on financial necessity. It is a choice,\u201d the July 3 letter said. \u201cYou have chosen executive compensation instead of investing in the permanent nursing workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nurses association has said nurses are struggling while 14 current and former MGB executives received a combined $35.9 million in compensation in fiscal 2024.<\/p>\n
Among the executives the union has called out are Dr. Anne Klibanski, the health care system\u2019s chief executive, who earned $8.4 million that year, and chief operating officer Dr. Ron Walls, who earned $3.2 million. The union also said the private equity and venture capital backgrounds of many MGB board members contrast with the \u201cthe daily reality of bedside nurses.\u201d <\/p>\n
In an emailed response to the union obtained by The Boston Globe, MGB board chair Scott Sperling said the board remains committed to reaching an agreement with the union. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to believe that the best outcome for patients, nurses, and the broader community is one achieved through continued negotiations and without a work stoppage,\u201d Sperling wrote. \u201cThe decision regarding whether to proceed with a strike rests with the MNA and its membership, and we sincerely hope that path can be avoided.\u201d<\/p>\n
The contract is largely stuck on cost-of-living increases \u2014 which Brigham nurses have received under past contracts in addition to yearly pay bumps tied to their work experience \u2014 and health insurance premiums. The hospital\u2019s proposal includes annual 5 percent step increases and pay raises for employees at the top of the step scale, which some nurses characterize as a union-busting tactic intended to drive a wedge in the bargaining unit. <\/p>\n
Pastore, MGB\u2019s spokesperson, said the across-the-board increases requested by the union would cost the hospital $128 million over the 18 months of the contract. The hospital does not yet have an estimate of how much the temporary nurses will cost during the work stoppage, she said.<\/p>\n
MGB has said the union is misleading the public by omitting that Brigham nurses receive an automatic pay increase of 5 percent every year as they progress through a 22-step pay scale.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 5 percent yearly raise is not 0 percent,\u201d says one of several charts that Brigham distributed to the Globe a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Nurses at the Brigham currently start at $86,700 annually, while midlevel nurses make around $147,000, according to documents shared by MGB. <\/p>\n
Brigham nurses are the second-highest paid nurses in the state, after those at nearby Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said Joe Markman, a spokesperson for the nurses ssociation, citing union data.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TPDHSCUMJ7N773OG7RLG6LYLAY.jpg\")
A nurse walked through a hallway at Mass General Brigham\u2019s Newton-Wellesley Hospital in May.John Tlumacki\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n
The 4,000 nurses at the Brigham represent about 18 percent of the hospital\u2019s workforce but account for more than 40 percent of its annual labor costs when adding up base pay, per-diem hours, overtime pay and differential pay for working less-desirable shifts, according to MGB. <\/p>\n
Christopher Friese, a professor of nursing at the University of Michigan who did a postdoctoral fellowship at Dana-Farber from 2005 to 2008, said Brigham nurses are \u201cpaid very well.\u201d But, he said, they handle medical cases that nurses at other hospitals don\u2019t \u201cbecause the care at the Brigham is among the most complex delivered in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNurses at the Brigham are highly expert and are delivering care that\u2019s highly complex, and they\u2019re doing it in a city with rising expenses,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s why the nurses are probably asking for these adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n
MGB began orientation for temporary nurses over the weekend, Pastore said. The Brigham will employ nearly 1,300 temporary nurses during the work stoppage, including nurses specialized to work in high-acuity settings, like the neonatal intensive care unit. <\/p>\n
Pastore said disruptions to care will be minimal, although some appointments may be rescheduled or moved to another MGB location. Patients who are scheduled to see Brigham nurse practitioners at MGB\u2019s health care centers in Foxborough, for example, may have to reschedule their visits or choose to see another clinician. <\/p>\n
There are no across-the-board cancellations of elective procedures, Pastore said. There may be some procedures affected, she said, but the number will be small and the hospital will contact any involved patients directly with details. <\/p>\n
Additionally, MGB informed a handful of nurses scheduled to work the July 9 FIFA World Cup game at Gillette Stadium that they will not be allowed to complete those shifts, regardless of whether the strike happens. The Brigham, which has been providing medical support to the massive soccer tournament\u2019s games in Foxborough, will staff the game with other, nonstriking Brigham clinicians in order to meet contractual obligations with FIFA. The hospital did not specify who will staff the games in place of the Brigham nurses. <\/p>\n
Amid the MGB Home Care strike, some ancillary services, including dietitian and speech language therapy appointments, will be paused. <\/p>\n
Despite the plans to minimize impacts to patient care, some patients are concerned the temporary nurses won\u2019t be adequate replacements for the nurses who have worked at the Brigham for decades. <\/p>\n
Among those worried was Charlotte Dobbs, a Watertown woman who gave birth to identical twin girls on June 12, seven weeks prematurely.<\/p>\n
Her daughters have been in Brigham\u2019s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit since then and have received extraordinary care from seasoned nurses, said Dobbs, 42, who is a chief of staff for a small technology company. Just Sunday, a nurse with 40 years of experience knew that one of the twins\u2019 heart rates was going to drop \u2014 a common symptom among preemies \u2014 by reading subtle cues in the baby\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn experienced NICU nurse is worth their weight in gold,\u201d said Dobbs, who is sympathetic to the nurses\u2019 contract demands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not privy to the Brigham\u2019s financial situation, but from my perspective as a parent, the workforce they have is tremendously valuable,\u201d she added. \u201cThese aren\u2019t interchangeable people who can be swapped out with other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brigham nurses and MGB Home Care unions aren\u2019t alone in their conflict over contracts. Last week, nurses at the UMass Memorial Medical Center\u2019s University Campus in Worcester authorized a 14-day strike over concerns about staffing shortages and workplace safety. That union has not yet set a strike date. <\/p>\n
The Globe is interested in speaking with staff, patients, and others who are impacted by the strike. If you\u2019re willing to speak to a reporter, please email Marin Wolf at marin.wolf@globe.com<\/a> and\/or Jonathan Saltzman at jonathan.saltzman@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Marin Wolf can be reached at marin.wolf@globe.com<\/a>. Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jonathan.saltzman@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dispute has the potential to disrupt care at and tarnish the reputation of one of the state\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":748494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-748493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/748494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}