Brattleboro hospital and its support staff avert strike by signing first contract

Source: VTDigger

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, which recently announced a similar agreement with a union representing its nurses, still faces the challenge of a $14.5 million budget deficit.

by Kevin O'Connor
May 14, 2026, 3:32 pm

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and a union representing its 280 support staffers have signed their first contract, avoiding a threatened walkout amid a projected $14.5 million annual budget shortfall.

The two-year agreement with Brattleboro Healthcare United workers, announced Thursday, comes a month after management at southeastern Vermont’s main health care provider successfully negotiated a separate contract with the 160-member Brattleboro Federation of Nurses.

“These agreements recognize the hard work and dedication of our employees while also reflecting the realities facing healthcare organizations across the country,” Dr. Tony Blofson, one of the hospital’s two acting co-CEOs, said in a statement.

Unions for both the nurses and support staffers had earlier voted for a potential strike “if necessary” after the hospital proposed curbs on salaries and benefits to help balance its current $130 million annual operating budget.


Exterior brick wall of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital with a white tree logo and the hospital name displayed.
The Brattleboro Memorial Hospital campus on Belmont Avenue. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2026/05/14/brattleboro-hospital-and-its-support-staff-avert-strike-by-signing-first-contract/