Unionized Workers At Mass General Brigham Withdraw Unfair Labor Practice Charge

Residents and fellows at Mass General Brigham withdrew a labor complaint last month that alleged the hospital system had retaliated against them for unionizing by removing stipends, after more than a year without an investigative report by the U.S. labor board.

Organizers from Mass General Brigham Housestaff United said they did not expect the charge, filed in September 2023, to progress further under the Trump administration.

While the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency, President Donald Trump’s unprecedented decision to fire one of the board’s members last month left the NLRB without a quorum and thus unable to hear cases.

The union’s Unfair Labor Practice charge accused the hospital system of cutting stipends for educational and technology expenses and reclassifying bargaining unit members in retaliation for unionizing earlier that year.

The request to withdraw the charge was approved on Jan. 17, before Trump’s inauguration.

Committee of Interns and Residents-Service Employees International Union President A. Taylor Walker wrote in an emailed statement that the union withdrew the complaint because it “had been pending for over a year without the NLRB taking any steps to address it, and it was clear that there would be no movement under the current administration.”

“Doctors at MGB will continue to unite to fight for a fair contract and ensure our members are respected and that our patients get the care they deserve,” she wrote.

The union is currently in the process of negotiating its first contract with MGB, stalled 13 months after bargaining began over wage increases and fertility benefits.

According to Harvard Law School professor Benjamin I. Sachs, an expert in labor law, unions may hesitate to file charges with the NLRB out of fear that the cases will be used to reverse longstanding worker protections.

Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers’ also decided to drop their own labor charge, alleging Harvard illegally surveilled workers during the spring encampment, days before Trump’s inauguration.

“In normal times, the union would have at its disposal an Unfair Labor Practice charge for failure to bargain in good faith,” Sachs said. “Now it’s complicated, because there is no board right now, and whether the union would want to file a charge or not, it’s unclear whether filing a charge would do any good.”

“All of these background facts will impact bargaining, and in a way, take away a tool from the union’s normal toolkit of enforcing the bargaining obligation,” he added.

An MGB spokesperson declined to comment on the withdrawal.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at hugo.chiasson@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Amann S. Mahajan can be reached at amann.mahajan@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @amannmahajan.