Brockton, Mass. — Registered nurses and health professionals at BMC South plan to hold an informational picket June 8 amid a contract dispute with Boston Medical Center, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
The union represents 475 registered nurses and health professionals at BMC South, formerly Good Samaritan Medical Center. The picket is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. outside the hospital at 235 North Pearl St. in Brockton.
The MNA said the picket is not a strike and that nurses and health professionals will participate outside working hours or during breaks. Patient care will continue uninterrupted, according to the union.
The planned picket follows a 96% vote by BMC South caregivers to reject what BMC executives described as their “last, best and final offer.” The union said negotiations have lasted nine months and have focused on wages, health insurance costs, staffing and other contract terms.
“With this picket we are sending a clear message that what BMC has proposed and the bullying manner in which they have proposed it is unacceptable to all the staff who have stayed here through years of turmoil and chronic under staffing,” said Maureen Healy, RN, a longtime nurse at BMC South and co-chair of the MNA local bargaining unit at the facility. “Our members and the people we care for deserve better and we hope with the public’s support we can convince management to come back to the table to finish this process respectfully.”
The union said staffing remains a central issue in the dispute. MNA said BMC South has not consistently followed agreed-upon staffing rules and alleged that the emergency department has at times had far fewer nurses scheduled than required under those rules.
The MNA said staff have filed hundreds of reports related to unsafe staffing and patient care concerns. The union said it also submitted complaints to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including 245 signed reports of unsafe staffing and 71 instances in which the union said staffing conditions impeded required care.
The dispute follows Boston Medical Center’s acquisition of the former Good Samaritan Medical Center after the collapse of Steward Health Care. The union said BMC South staff have faced increased patient demand following the closure of Norwood Hospital after a 2022 flood and the closure of Brockton Hospital after a 2023 fire.
The MNA said workers are also seeking broader access to physicians under BMC’s employee health insurance network. The union said staff have raised concerns about the Select Plan, which it described as the more affordable plan used by many insured workers.
In February, BMC South nurses voted 99% to authorize a strike. The union later issued notice for a three-day strike scheduled for April 30 to May 3, but withdrew the notice after discussions with local, state and federal officials, according to the MNA.
The union said talks briefly resumed April 28, but BMC management later sent what the union described as a take-it-or-leave-it final offer. The MNA said the offer for BMC South is more than $10 per hour below the agreement recently negotiated with MNA nurses at BMC Brighton.
“They treat us like enemies that they have to threaten and disrespect. We’ve told them that we have stayed here for our community through the Covid pandemic and the decline and fall of Steward. We are proud and tough people and we just won’t accept being bullied,” said Liz Erwin, RN, co-chair of the MNA local bargaining unit.
Erwin said the union brought the proposal to members so they could respond directly.
“When BMC management chooses cuts over care, we have no choice but to stand together for ourselves and our patients. Our vote on Wednesday and Thursday says we will not allow BMC’s hardline positions to compromise patient safety or disrespect the hard work staff perform every day–the same staff who have stuck with their hospital through thick and thin,” Erwin said. “We are not making this stand for ourselves alone—we are making this stand to protect our patients and our community.”
The union said negotiations are scheduled to resume June 16 at MNA headquarters in Canton.
