Nearly 400 Doctors at Mass General and Brigham’s Push to Unionize

By Amaya Briones 

Close to 400 primary care physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have filed to unionize. This comes amid growing concern over burnout, heavy patient loads, and increased administrative tasks that interfere with patient care. 

One physician stated, “We’re constantly feeling stretched thin, and it’s affecting both our well-being and the care we can provide.” 

The doctors seek collective bargaining power to improve working conditions, compensation, and job satisfaction.

The decision to unionize reflects broader pressures facing primary care physicians, including long hours and limited autonomy. The doctors want to unionize to negotiate better working conditions and advocate for a healthier work-life balance.

While MGH and BWH have acknowledged the petition, they have not publicly stated whether they will recognize the union. 

Large healthcare institutions traditionally try to resist efforts at unionization. Still, the current movement represents an increasing dissatisfaction among healthcare workers with the commercialization of the industry and its impacts on quality of care.

“The focus is shifting more toward profits than patients, and it’s time for us to stand up for what’s best for both,” one physician emphasized.

If this unionization succeeds, it will have a greater impact on the healthcare sector. It might spark off similar movements across the country, changing how hospitals interact with their medical staff to help solve increasingly complex problems of burnout and staffing shortages.