Developing story
Over 4,000 Brigham and Women's Nurses Return After Five-Day Stoppage; No Contract
More than 4,000 Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses returned July 13 after a five-day work stoppage the Massachusetts Nurses Association called the largest nursing strike and lockout in state history. They returned without a contract.
By 411 Press Newsroom2 min read
Developing story — 411 Press will update as bargaining continues.
More than 4,000 registered nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston returned to work Monday morning without a new contract, five days after the Massachusetts Nurses Association called them out on a one-day strike that Mass General Brigham converted into a four-day lockout.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association described the work stoppage as the largest nursing strike and lockout in Massachusetts history.
How the stoppage unfolded
Nurses walked off the job at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8, for what the union had scheduled as a one-day action. The hospital had brought in approximately 1,300 temporary replacement nurses and honored its contracts with those workers, keeping the hospital's regular nursing staff locked out for four additional days. The 4,000-plus nurses returned at 7 a.m. on Monday, July 13.
The contract dispute
Brigham and Women's nurses have been in contract negotiations with Mass General Brigham for eight months without reaching an agreement. The core dispute is over wages and health insurance costs.
The union has pressed for across-the-board wage increases, which it says the hospital has not offered. Mass General Brigham has said its offer includes annual 5 percent step increases based on years of service — part of a 20-step pay scale that tops out after about two decades of employment — plus raises for nurses already at the top of the scale.
The union has also called for greater investment in permanent nursing staff and protection of patient care services.
What comes next
The nurses returned to their patients without a contract, and the MNA says the fight for a fair agreement continues. The two sides returned to the bargaining table the week of July 21 — the first sessions since the stoppage — and the union said Mass General Brigham was still refusing to negotiate its key patient-care priorities, including limits on the hospital's reliance on temporary travel nurses.
About 450 MGB Home Care clinicians, who walked out alongside the Brigham nurses in a fight for their first union contract, conducted a separate seven-day strike that ran through July 15.
The Brigham fight is one of several contract disputes 411 Press is tracking this year, including a strike authorization by UAW Local 699 in Saginaw, Michigan.
Sources: Boston Globe — Nurses are back at Brigham and Women's Hospital, but the fight is not overBoston Globe — Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses return to work following strike and lockoutMassachusetts Nurses Association — Brigham nurses return to patients following historic strike and lockoutCBS Boston — Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses locked out after ending one-day strikeNBC Boston — Brigham and Women's Hospital nurse strike, lockout have endedMassachusetts Nurses Association — MGB refuses to negotiate key patient care priorities as Brigham nurses return to bargaining (July 21, 2026)
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