Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital employees stage walkout

Employees at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital walked out of their workplace Tuesday, demanding higher wages and better job security. 

About 100 workers staged the walkout, WBZ NewsRadio reported, as members of the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East union fight for what they say is a more fair contract. 

They aired their grievances about low pay, saying that it is inexcusable for healthcare workers at the hospital to earn as little as $15.45 per hour. The walkout happened while employees were on their lunch break, WBZ reported, and workers chanted and held signs outside Faulkner. 

“These low wages are also a grave economic and social injustice, with a predominantly black and immigrant workforce being told that they should accept pay that falls well below what is needed to live and thrive in our state,” a union spokesperson said in a statement to The Boston Globe. 

Andy Rodgers, a union delegate who works in the hospital’s pharmacy department, told NBC10 Boston that negotiations for a new contract have been underway since last July. Rodgers supports raising the minimum wage for Faulkner workers to $18 per hour. 

“Our goal has been, and remains, to reach a fair agreement that supports and recognizes the critical work of our staff in providing high-quality care to our patients. We continue to work towards that goal,” BWFH Executive Director of Human Resources Laura Barnett said in a statement to WBZ.

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