Faulkner nurses voted on July 25 to authorize a potential one-day strike
because MGB refuses to properly value the excellent patient care
Faulkner nurses provide under extremely challenging
conditions
BOSTON, July 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The approximately 500 registered
nurses of Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, represented by the
Massachusetts Nurses Association, voted on July 25 to authorize a potential one-day strike.
Nurses are preparing for a strike because after months of
negotiations, Mass General Brigham refuses to provide Faulkner
nurses wage parity with Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses, and
thereby is failing to address longstanding unsafe staffing and
patient safety issues.
Faulkner nurses voted 341 yes to 1 no for a potential 1-day
strike – 99.7% yes!
"We are incredibly proud that Faulkner nurses came out in huge
numbers to authorize a strike. Nurses are disgusted by MGB
executives treating us unfairly for so long compared to Brigham and
Women's Hospital," said Dan Rec,
a Faulkner RN and Co-Chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee. "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."
"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 MNA
Bargaining Committee. "MGB executives must address the wage
disparity between Brigham and the Faulkner to properly value our
nurses and ensure safe patient care conditions."
The vote results give the nurses elected to the Faulkner MNA
Bargaining Committee authorization to hold a one-day strike if
necessary. A strike date has not been selected. If scheduled, that
date will be announced to the public once the hospital has been
given the 10-day notice required by law. Faulkner nurses would then
plan to hold a 24-hour strike unless Faulkner agreed to a fair
contract by that date.
Why Faulkner Nurses Deserve Brigham Wage Parity
Nurses at Faulkner Hospital currently make significantly less
than nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Yet MGB treats the
Faulkner like it is part of the Brigham. Faulkner patient care and
working conditions are just as challenging, and the hospital has
dozens of vacant nursing positions.
- MGB promotes Faulkner using the BWH name. In press releases and
announcements, it uses the term "the Brigham family."
- In September 2023, the hospital celebrated the 25-year
relationship between Faulkner and BWH by saying, "This integration
has allowed BWFH to become vitally important to the work of the
Brigham family…"
- Faulkner and Brigham's internal medicine residency
program, general surgery program, and surgical chief resident
rotation have been integrated for more than 20 years.
- Faulkner is home to numerous BWH institutions, including the
BWH Comprehensive Spine Center, the BWH Sleep Medicine and
Endocrinology Center and the BWH Department of Orthopedic
Surgery.
- Many staff who work at the Faulkner are employed by BWH,
including at physician offices and the Mohs and Dermatologic
Surgery Center.
- The Brigham pays nurses the BWH MNA salary scale at other
off-site locations, including the BWH Health Care Center 850
Boylston St. and the joint BWH/MGH health center in Foxborough.
- In some cases, management oversees Faulkner staff from offices
at the Brigham, including a Brigham-based director who supervises
Faulkner operating room assistants and Samantha Rowley, Vice President of Perioperative
Services.
- BWH is even sending robots to Faulkner! A surgical robot has
been accompanied by related cases coming from the Brigham.
MGB Financial Highlights
- MGB made $579 million system-wide
in profits during the fiscal period ending December 31, 2023, according to the Center for
Health Information and Analysis. Faulkner Hospital made
$9.5 million in profits during that
period.
- Anne Klibanski, MGB's president and CEO, made a nearly 25%
salary increase from 2020 to 2021, going from $4.3 million to more than $5 million.
- MGB is spending $2 billion
expanding Mass General Hospital and Faulkner Hospital. This follows
construction of a $465 million HQ in
Somerville and a reported
$100 million rebranding
campaign.
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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the
largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members
advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of
nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of
nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view
of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies
on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association