Faulkner Hospital nurses also approve 1-day strike

Nurses are demanding equal pay and help to address unsafe staffing and patient safety issues.

Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain overwhelmingly voted Thursday to authorize a potential one-day strike.

According to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the nurses are demanding equal pay with Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurses and help to address longstanding unsafe staffing and patient safety issues.

A little over 340 nurses voted in support of authorizing the strike.

The vote gives the nurses elected to the Faulkner Massachusetts Nurses Association Bargaining Committee authorization to hold a one-day strike if necessary. The committee has not picked a strike date. The law requires a 10-day notice to a strike.

“We are concerned about the damaging cycle of Faulkner nurses receiving lower pay than the Brigham, making retention and recruitment difficult, and leading to understaffing, danger, and stress,” said Dan Rec, a Faulkner RN and co-chair of the bargaining committee, in a statement.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association alleges that Faulkner Hospital nurses make significantly less than Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurses. Yet Mass General Brigham treats Faulkner and its patients and staff like they are part of Brigham.

The Faulkner and Brigham internal medicine residency program, general surgery program, and surgical chief resident rotation have been integrated for over 20 years.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital employs many staff members at Faulkner, including physicians’ offices and the Mohs and Dermatologic Surgery Center.

In addition, the nurses association says that Brigham pays nurses the Brigham and Women’s Hospital salary scale at other off-site locations, including the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Health Care Center at 850 Boylston St. and the joint health center in Foxborough.

“We have been negotiating with the union since October of 2023 and have participated in 11 sessions with the Massachusetts Nursing Association to date,” Mass General Brigham said in a statement sent to Boston.com.

The hospital says they have progressed on several topics and argue they have presented a fair, equitable proposal.

“Our focus remains on supporting our nurses while providing high-quality, safe care for our patients,” Mass General Brigham continued. “If a strike takes place, we are positioned to continue to provide the care our patients expect.”

The vote comes a day after nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital voted to authorize a one-day strike.

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the state’s largest union of registered nurses, with 25,000 members.

According to the Center for Health Information and Analysis, Mass General Brigham made $579 million in system-wide profits last year, while Faulkner Hospital earned $9.5 million during the same period.

Mass General Brigham is also spending $2 billion in expanding Mass General Hospital and Faulkner Hospital, following the construction of a $465 million headquarters in Sommerville.

“This powerful strike authorization vote shows that Faulkner nurses are united in standing up for our patients and the respect we deserve,” said Kathy Glennon, a Faulkner RN and co-chair of the bargaining committee.