National Nurses United

M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 1 6 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 5 MASSACHUSETTS A s they were poised to strike, the 3,300 nurses working at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston reached an eleventh-hour agreement with the hospital that protects safe patient care, enhances hospital security, successfully fights off attempts to implement non-union benefits for new nurses, and includes a fair wage increase. "This is a huge victory for Brigham patients and the practice of nursing. The ultimate credit for this settlement goes to the 3,300 MNA nurses of Brigham and Women's Hospital," said Trish Powers, and operating room RN and chair of the MNA BWH bargaining unit. "Brigham nurses stood together and were ready to hold a historic one-day strike for their patients, for our community, and for the Brigham way of excellent and safe patient care." "We are especially proud to have signifi- cantly improved security at the hospital for everyone," Powers said. "Security was our top priority entering negotiations and we prevailed through hard work, determination and the unity of 3,300 nurses." The tentative agreement averted a one- day strike scheduled for June 27 that would have been the largest in Massachusetts history and the first in Boston in 30 years. BWH is owned by Partners HealthCare. Brigham nurses fought a months-long, organized campaign to pressure Partners to value patients over profits, including staging a massive May picket of more than 1,000 nurses and supporters, holding countless bargaining sessions, and winning overwhelming support among members for the strike. "We are by far most proud of our success in standing up for our patients," said Kelly Morgan, RN labor and delivery and vice chair of the MNA BWH bargaining unit. The hospital agreed to restore core nurse staffing to December 2015 levels, with flexi- bility depending on patient volume, acuity, and other factors. A reduction in nurse staffing earlier this year jeopardized the safe care of some of the hospital's sickest patients. Patients in the thoracic step-down unit on the 11th floor of the hospital have undergone lung transplant, heated chemotherapy and other serious procedures. They require constant, vigilant nursing care. Following the tragic shooting death of a Brigham doctor last fall and increasing assaults on nurses, Brigham nurses raised security as an issue at the bargaining table. Through negotiations, help from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- tration, and state lawmakers, nurses ulti- mately forced the hospital to agree to a lengthy list of security improvements on top of what has already been done. Nurses were also successful in fighting back a two-tier benefit structure that would have undermined the unity of RNs at Brigham, and were able to make economic gains including across-the-board 2 percent raises for each year of the three-year contract, as well as new steps for nurses at the top of the pay scale. —Staff report Brigham RNs win hard-fought new contract Settle with Partners Healthcare on eve of historic strike

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