Hospital nurses strike in Boston now largest walkout for nurses in MA history

What This is

• Thousands of union nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston walked off the job in a strike that is being described as the largest nurses walkout in Massachusetts history.
• The strike follows stalled contract talks, with nurses pushing for better pay, benefits, and working conditions such as protections around staffing and safety.
• The walkout at Brigham was described as a one-day strike on July 8, but nurses were off the job longer because the hospital extended the stoppage into a lockout through about July 13.
• The hospital said it would stay open and brought in about 1,300 replacement nurses, along with added leadership coverage, to try to limit disruption to patient care.
• A separate strike also involved roughly 450 Mass General Brigham Home Care clinicians seeking a first union contract, leading to pauses in some home-care services.

Why This Matters

• Large nurse walkouts test whether hospitals can keep patients safe when regular staffing suddenly drops.
• Contract fights over pay and insurance costs shape whether experienced nurses stay in bedside jobs in high-cost cities.
• Lockouts and large numbers of temporary nurses can strain trust and teamwork that hospitals rely on for smooth, error-free care.
• What happens in this dispute can influence future bargaining across Massachusetts hospitals and home-care services.