Unionized nurses at Brigham and Women's, Faulkner Hospital in Boston authorize strike

In separate votes a day apart, nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Faulkner Hospital in Boston voted overwhelmingly to authorize a one-day strike.

Brigham nurses voted Wednesday night 2,507 to 16 to authorize the potential strike, according to a statement from the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Nurses at Faulkner Hospital voted to join them Thursday; they're hoping to improve staffing and pay, MNA says.

The union has been in months of contract negotiations with executives of Mass General Brigham. So far, there have been 28 bargaining sessions and a federal mediator has been called in, according to the union and MGB.

“We do not want to have to strike but are prepared to act if MGB executives keep putting patient safety at risk by not investing in our nursing workforce," Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse and union chair, said in a statement. "We cannot continue caring for patients under these conditions, and the hospital cannot operate without its nurses.”

The union says its members are asking for increased staffing, higher wages and more choices for health insurance coverage.

In a statement, Mass General Brigham's spokesperson said it has made "substantial progress" at the bargaining table, “reached tentative agreements on several issues, and feel confident that we proposed a fair and equitable contract, positioning BWH nurses amongst the highest paid nurses in the state."

The authorization vote does not mean a strike will necessarily happen. In the statement, the union said it would schedule a strike based on management's response to this step. The union will provide a 10-days notice if it pursues a strike day.

An MGB spokesperson said in a statement that if the strike takes place, they are "positioned to provide the care our patients expect."

About 4,000 nurses at Brigham and Women's are represented by the MNA.

With additional reporting from WBUR's Newsroom