(BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS) - More than 4,000 Nurses employed at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston initiated the largest Strike last week by Nurses and Health Care Professionals in Massachusetts History, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA). But when they tried to return to work Thursday (July 16th) morning, the Hospital locked them out.

The Strike also involved 450 Clinicians at Mass General Brigham (MGB) Home Care, who began a separate seven-day walkout.

Both groups of Workers are represented by the MNA.

The dispute is over wages and benefits.

MGB has proposed no wage increase for Nurses, the MNA said.

The Hospital is also seeking to raise monthly health insurance premiums by 2.5 percentage points for Nurses on the Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan - roughly half the Union's Members.

Nicolette Dickerhoff, a Neo-Natal Nurse Practitioner at Brigham and Women's, said the financial pressure on Staff was already acute: "Most of us are living paycheck to paycheck because of how expensive Boston and Massachusetts in general is. The Hospital wants to increase the premiums on our health insurance - that essentially equates to a pay cut for us."

For More On This Labor News Story, Go To: 4,500 Brigham and Women's Nurses Strike and Face Lockout in Largest Healthcare Walkout in Massachusetts History | The LabourPulse And Brigham Nurses Prepare for End of Lockout on Monday with Solidarity Walk-In as MGB Home Care Clinicians Demonstrate Power with Ongoing MGB HQ Strike Picketing - Massachusetts Nurses Association

Photo Courtesy Of The MNA’s Facebook Page.