Over 4,000 Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurses and MGB home care clinicians took to the picket lines Wednesday for what is expected to be a five-day work stoppage, making history as Massachusetts’ largest ever nurses’ strike.

Nurses with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) picketed by the thousands Wednesday following months of failing to reach a contract with the hospital system at the main Brigham and Women’s campus in Longwood, as well as hospitals and home care sites in Foxboro, Somerville, Newton, Beverly and more.

“MGB has spent years disrespecting nurses and ignoring our safety concerns,” said Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse and BWH MNA bargaining committee chair. “Executives have refused for months to invest in nurses, instead making proposals that would make it harder to recruit and retain nurses. We are standing up for our patients, our profession, and the future of care at the Brigham.”

The 4,000 Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurses with the union voted for a one-day strike starting Wednesday at 7 a.m., but the work stoppage will continue for four more days through July 13 at 7 a.m., as the hospital institutes a lockout “due to the extensive operational and emergency preparedness measures required to support uninterrupted patient care.”

The 450 MGB Home Care clinicians called a seven-day strike starting Wednesday, lasting through July 15 at 8 a.m.

MBG brought in nearly 1,300 nurses to replace the 4,000 on strike and over 175 home care clinicians to replace the 450, stating that Brigham and Women’s “remains open and fully operational, and patients should continue to come to scheduled appointments unless they hear directly from their care team.”

Gov. Maura Healey intervened following the start of the strike Wednesday, calling a 4 p.m. meeting at the State House with Mass General Brigham management and the nurses union to push for a resolution, emphasizing the “urgency of this situation” in a statement Wednesday evening.

“I met with MGB and MNA again today to strongly urge them to return to the bargaining table and continue negotiating in good faith,” Healey said. “It is essential that they reach an agreement that protects patient care and ensures strong wages and benefits for our hardworking health care nurses.”

Following the meeting, the MNA said they were “waiting for MGB to respond” as they remained interested in “negotiating at any time to reach a fair agreement and resolve the strikes.”

“We appreciate the Governor’s willingness to bring both sides into her office to discuss our positions,” MNA spokesperson Joe Markman said in a statement. … “We detailed to the governor our grave concerns about the level of care MGB’s replacement workers are providing. Nurses and patient families have described harrowing conditions because MGB failed to staff adequately and hired nurses without proper qualifications.”

MGB said their current proposal would add “meaningful value” to the wage and benefit packages for nurses. The proposal continues the 5% increases throughout the 20-step wage scale and a 2.5% increase for nurses at the top step, without adding to base wages.

Their proposed compensation package adds about 30% “through health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off, and tuition support,” MGB stated.

Under the MNA proposal, the hospital system stated, Brigham nursing salary and benefit expenses would increase from about $746 million to $920 million annually. Nurses wages would represent nearly 50% of all BWH labor costs, MGB said, “illustrating the significant financial impact of the proposal on the hospital’s overall operating budget.”

The MNA said they are seeking “competitive wage increases,” noting MGB has consistently proposed “0% cost of living increases.” The union is also seeking affordable health insurance, protection of threatened patient care services and more.

The union cited high inflation and a significant jump in cost of living in recent years and noted “MGB’s top 14 executives received a combined $35.9 million in compensation in fiscal year 2024, including $8.4 million for CEO Dr. Anne Klibanski” — a figure echoed in many signs on the picket lines Wednesday.

“Today they were willing to pay a bunch of travelers a ton of money, and not offer us even the slightest bit of a raise, which is just disrespectful,” said BWH cath lab nurse Bana Kahale. “We come in here; I work 40-plus hours a week with on call. Sometimes I do 22 out of 24 hour shifts a day, where I’m taking care of really ill people, and it’s just disrespectful.”

Kahale said she’s “lost some trust” in the MGB bargaining, but “there’s always hope.”

Several local and state politicians expressed support for the nurses Wednesday, joining the picket lines and issuing statements.

“Nurses are the backbone of our health care system, and we rely on their skills, compassion, and tireless work ethic to care for our loved ones,” said Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Stephen Lynch, and Mayor Michelle Wu. “The nurses at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Mass General Brigham Homecare deserve a fair contract that reflects the essential contributions they make each and every day.”

Ashley Martell, a procedural float RN of eight years, said there was an “increase in unity” among the nurses Wednesday, and “we cannot be broken.”

“I think this could have been resolved a long time ago,” said Margaret Coughlin, an RN with the hospital for 18 years, outside the Longwood campus. “I think the union is very, very fair and reasonable, but the hospital wanted to do nothing. And this terribly unsafe situation is (the result)… which tells all of us they don’t care about the patients, they care about their bottom line.”

Many nurses expressed concern for their patients, citing rumors of short-staffing, training and patient knowledge failures inside.

“Yesterday, as I was ready to walk out, I had to tell my 20-year-old patient that I wouldn’t be back, and the mother almost lost it,” said Grace Adrole, a staff and charge RN of 18 years. “I can’t imagine being ill, and then have to deal with the fact that now you’re going to have some random person that you’ve not met walk in and take care of you.”

Adrole said the nurses planned to stay all night long, saying they “feel the love and support.”

“We are here to stay,” Adrole said. “We are not going away. Rain or shine, snow, whatever. We’ll be here until somebody listens. We’re not giving up.”

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