Primary care physicians at Boston-based Mass General Brigham’s Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals have voted to unionize.
The 183-26 vote in favor of joining Doctors Council of the Service Employees International Union was tabulated May 30, according to a news release from the union.
The physicians filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in 2024 seeking an election to decide whether to join the union. However, Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham had argued that some of the physicians worked at acute care hospitals and were ineligible from joining the bargaining unit.
On April 18, the NLRB regional director ruled that physicians belong in a single bargaining unit. Mass General Brigham appealed the decision and asked the NLRB to delay the election indefinitely due to a lack of quorum in the NLRB headquarters in Washington, the union said.
“Mass General Brigham respects the rights of employees to organize under the National Labor Relations Act, and we are committed to ensuring that any such process complies with applicable labor law,” a system spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “Prior to this vote, we formally requested the National Labor Relations Board to review whether the composition of the proposed bargaining unit is appropriate under the law for acute care hospitals, and we await their decision.”
The union called the vote the first unionization of academic primary care physicians in the state.
“We need to rebuild our primary care practices, empower physicians and ensure that our patients get the care they deserve,” Michael Barnett, MD, a physician with Brigham and Women’s Advanced Primary Care Associates, South Huntington, said in the union release. “We can make this happen by working with MGB leadership to implement their pledge of $400 million of investment in primary care. We are ready for MGB to recognize our union and move forward.”
Mass General Brigham said it has been working since fall 2023 to improve primary care experience based on physician feedback.
“Our ongoing investment in primary care reflects this long-term commitment to improving the experience of both our physicians and the patients they serve,” the spokesperson said.
