Striking Mass General Brigham home health clinicians picket outside headquarters: "We're at our breaking point"
While 4,000 Brigham and Women's nurses are locked out of the Boston hospital following a one-day strike, 450 home health clinicians are on day 3 of their week-long work stoppage.
A large group of home health workers – from nurse to speech pathologists, physical therapists, and more – rallied outside the Mass. General Brigham headquarters in Somerville Friday morning. Home health care workers treat patients after injury or illness, helping them learn critical skills and recover in their home setting.
This group unionized back in 2024 and has been negotiating its first ever union contract since 2025. After more than 30 negotiation sessions with hospital leadership, discussions stalled, and the strike began.
Switch from hourly pay to salary
Nurses tell WBZ the hospital switched them from an hourly pay rate to salary, eliminating overtime at a time when their work hours reached an all-time high. They're also concerned about an increase in paperwork once their patient care shift ends.
"When we are asked to do more and more and more every single day, at some point you break. And we're at our breaking point and that's why we're all out here," said Shannon Viera, a nurse who leads the bargaining unit. "We are being stretched so thin every day. We get home at the end of the day, and we have seen as many patients as we can possibly see and then we have all the paperwork to go with it. It's not safe."
Negotiations for first union contract remain stalled
Negotiations remain stalled, even after attempts by Governor Healey to bring both sides back to the table. "I think that it just goes to show how little [leadership] value[s] the work that we do," Viera said. "We are constantly told that in-home care we don't turn a profit, so we don't deserve raises."
"We are focused on reaching an agreement that supports patient care needs and supports the long-term sustainability of our system," a spokesperson for Mass. General Brigham said to WBZ in a statement. "To date, we've held 30 negotiation sessions and reached more than 20 tentative agreements on several key provisions. We have also proposed changes on overtime, enhanced on-call territory pay, and wages, including new or improved pay scales. We believe our offer recognizes the essential contributions of our Home Care clinicians as valued members of our care teams, offering highly competitive pay that maintains their position at the top of the local market."
