Nearly 1,400 healthcare workers at two Boston Medical Center-owned hospitals voted May 12th to ratify a new, three-year union contract that will deliver meaningful wage increases, protect workers’ own healthcare coverage, and preserve important benefits workers had previously won under prior contracts with the former Steward Healthcare facilities.

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 to help boost recruitment and retention of staff to meet the needs of the Brighton and Brockton communities.

After bargaining since September 2025,  1199ers at both facilities voted to authorize a one-day strike, which was slated to occur on May 1.  The agreement, which was reached on April 29^th , was ratified by workers today and will deliver meaningful wage increases between 6-15% depending on seniority/experience over a three-year period, retroactive to October 2025.

The contract also preserves critical benefits that help retain workers and build the healthcare workforce, including:

- Preservation of free and low-cost educational and training opportunities with the 1199 Training and Upgrading Fund
- Health insurance changes that will increase access to the lowest cost health insurance for hundreds of workers, and reimbursement of co-pays
- Preservation of Paid Time Off (PTO), Holidays, and Bereavement
- The maintenance of robust language holding subcontractors accountable, which is particularly important for former Steward members who've been through a lot of change already.

1199 represents nearly 1,400 members at both sites, in departments including radiology, transport, environmental services, dietary and pharmacy.

This is the third and final contract ratified by 1199SEIU members at former Steward facilities, including contracts at Brown Health — Morton and Saint Anne's Hospitals in November 2025, and Merrimack Valley Health — Holy Family Methuen and Haverhill campuses in April 2026.

Over 2,000 RNs and LPNs represented by 1199SEIU at the main campus in Boston are currently bargaining with Boston Medical Center, where workers hope to replicate a victory that invests in caregivers.

“Healthcare workers spent years doing everything they could for their patients throughout Steward’s mismanagement; they held these hospitals together. Amid the major challenges facing the state’s healthcare system, this contract will provide the meaningful wage increases that are needed to aid the recruitment and retention of the staff BMC patients depend on. And by preserving critical benefits workers won in past contracts in this first contract with BMC, we can avoid disruptive changes that would have threatened the ongoing stabilization we’ve seen since BMC acquired the hospitals with the state’s help,” said Marlon Washington, 1199SEIU’s Vice President of BMC/Community Hospitals. “I want to thank Mayor Michelle Wu, Senator Ed Markey, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congressman Steve Lynch, and other elected leaders for their strong support in getting workers a fair contract. Healthcare workers at BMC Brighton and BMC South are excited to continue focusing on what’s most important: our patients and communities.”

Additional elected leaders who supported workers include state representatives Rita Mendes, Bridget Pluoffe, Michelle Dubois, Kevin Honan; state senators Will Brownsberger and Mike Brady; Boston city councilors Liz Breadon, Julia Mejia, Ruthzee Louijeune, Henry Santana, and Erin Murphy.

“I am proud of the meaningful wage increases we won through this contract, which recognizes the value of our work and the dedication we bring each day. Fair compensation means that 1199 members can continue building sustainable careers in healthcare while providing quality care to the patients and communities we serve,” said Kiamara Ruiz, a CNA at BMC South.