1199ers at two Boston Medical Center-owned hospitals voted overwhelmingly this month to authorize a one-day strike, as the former Steward Healthcare facilities face a growing staffing crisis driven by inadequate wages that is contributing to burnout and turnover among healthcare workers. 

Workers at Boston Medical Center Brighton (formerly Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center) and Boston Medical Center South (formerly Good Samaritan Medical Center) faced years of mismanagement by the hospitals’ former owner, Steward Healthcare. Over the past 18 months, under the new ownership of Boston Medical Center, workers have focused on winning essential investments that would help boost recruitment and retention of staff to meet the needs of the Brighton and Brockton communities. 

Yet as short-staffing worsens and inadequate wages impact recruitment at both sites, BMC's recent contract proposals lack the necessary investment needed to fill critical vacancies, train staff, and ensure a long-term commitment to the communities they serve. Earlier this month, 96% of voting members of 1199SEIU at both facilities voted to authorize a one-day strike. 

“Healthcare workers sacrificed their time and their bodies to hold these hospitals together through years of Steward’s mismanagement. Now, despite the stabilization we’ve seen since BMC acquired the hospitals with the state’s help, we face a severe staffing crisis that has made job vacancies and inadequate staffing levels the norm in many departments,” said Marlon Washington, 1199SEIU’s Vice President of BMC/Community Hospitals. “Workers are burning out faster than their replacements can be found, and they deserve investments that allow them to remain in the jobs they love.  Workers want BMC to offer wages that attract new workers while retaining the current workforce so they can meet the demands of the communities we serve.. But BMC’s latest proposal would gut our benefits and deny wage increases to one in four workers.” 

1199SEIU represents nearly 1400 members at both sites, in departments including technical, transport, environmental services, dietary and pharmacy. The union and BMC management have been bargaining since September 2025.  

“I love being able to connect with patients as I help them move around the hospital to get the care they need. Yet, it’s getting harder to stay when my pay is inadequate, and management doesn’t seem to value my contribution,” said Brandon Buffalo, a Transporter at BMC South. “I work multiple part-time jobs just to get by, so I have little time for myself. I would rather focus on my job and my patients, and not  constantly think about how I’m going to pay the bills.” 

“I had a respiratory failure a few years ago, requiring me to see a pulmonologist regularly,” said Jazmine Woodberry, a Lead Lab Technician Assistant at BMC Brighton. “However, the changes to our health insurance meant that my provider was no longer in-network, and I’ve been unable to schedule an appointment with any new provider for months. It’s hard to show up fully for my patients when I’m not getting the quality care I need myself.” 

Under federal labor laws, a 10-day notice is required before any strike at a hospital, and such a notice has not yet been issued. BMC and 1199SEIU’s next bargaining session is on Monday, March 30.