Brigham nurses set a strike date, and this one has no end date

The Massachusetts Nurses Association says 4,000 registered nurses at Brigham & Women's Hospital will walk off the job October 14 unless they reach a deal with Mass General Brigham. The union is calling it the largest open-ended nurse strike in state history. Two weeks is not much runway.

Remember July: a one-day strike, followed by a four-day lockout, because the hospital had already contracted replacement nurses for five days. That was the largest healthcare strike the state had ever seen. An open-ended walkout is a different animal. The last big one, at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester in 2001, dragged on for 301 days. Nobody wants a repeat, least of all patients at one of the region's biggest teaching hospitals.

The fight is over money. The union says MGB, the state's most profitable hospital system, wants nurses to accept a multiyear pay freeze, and it is also fighting over health insurance costs. MGB says its nurses are already among the best-paid in the country and will keep getting annual step raises. The union says MGB has shut the door on talks; the hospital says it takes the situation seriously. Watch for state officials to start leaning on both sides in the next few days, and for Brigham to start talking about patient transfers and elective procedure schedules. This one affects a lot of people.

Full story at WBZ / CBS Boston →

Healey wants Trump's help with a gas pipeline. Yes, really. Gov. Maura Healey sent a letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright asking the feds to speed up review of Project RARE, a modest expansion of the Algonquin pipeline that Enbridge says would lower costs for 600,000 customers. Healey is running for reelection in a race defined by affordability, and she's stressing that "moving quickly does not mean cutting corners." Expect climate advocates to have feelings about it. CommonWealth Beacon → | WBUR →

Her gas tax holiday is a tougher sell on Beacon Hill. House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz was noncommittal on Healey's proposal to suspend the gas tax, which rides along in her $2.24 billion closeout supplemental budget. He did note the House has voted down similar ideas several times, "pretty significantly." Opponents, mostly Democrats, worry about the lost revenue and the state's bond rating. GBH News →

Mayor Wu endorses Healey and Driscoll. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu formally backed the reelection of Gov. Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll Thursday, citing a "partnership." The two aren't known to be especially close; they backed opposite candidates in a couple of last month's state Senate primaries. Still, it's a useful photo op for the governor as October kicks off. CommonWealth Beacon →

Who is bankrolling the push to kill partisan primaries? The ballot question campaign has raised more than $5.6 million, making it the top-funded question this cycle, and the money comes largely from people tied to private equity and investment firms, including Bain Capital and Berkshire Partners alumni. Opponents say it's an attempt to "buy elections." The donors' exact motivation is unclear, and there's no obvious ideological pattern. Boston Globe →

Anti-BPS ads got yanked from the T. A new nonprofit, Next Chapter Boston, raised over $1.5 million for a campaign declaring "BPS IS FAILING HER," citing state data showing most Boston third graders below grade level in reading and math. The MBTA pulled the ads, saying its ad contractor placed them without the required review. Organizer Mary Tamer, a former School Committee member, called it censorship. Boston Globe →

AG's church abuse report comes with a legislative to-do list. After a state probe found nearly 1,000 children were abused by Catholic leaders in the Springfield, Worcester, and Fall River dioceses, Attorney General Andrea Campbell is pushing three changes: scrap the $20,000 charitable immunity cap on payouts from nonprofits like the church, eliminate the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, and create an indefinite "lookback" window. GBH News →

Roxbury businesses burned out of the Edison Building get help. After Monday's six-alarm fire gutted the 103-year-old Nubian Square complex, the city says it may have found temporary space for the five displaced businesses. The property manager plans to rebuild. For owners like Darlin Velasquez, who said "we lost everything," the timeline can't come soon enough. Boston Globe →

• Oct. 6: Jury selection begins Tuesday in the federal trial of former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell, accused in the 2021 death of Sandra Birchmore. Opening statements could come as early as Oct. 9. WCVB →
• Oct. 14: The Brigham nurses' strike deadline. Keep an eye out for any bargaining sessions before then. WBZ / CBS Boston →
• Oct. 26: The Fields Corner post office is set to "temporarily" close, and Dorchester residents are understandably skeptical about that word. Universal Hub →

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• William Falcetano (Republican) — Governor's Council, 5th District — Filed: 10/2/2026
• Diego Leonardo — House, 16th Essex — Filed: 9/28/2026
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