The labor union that represents the 35 registered nurses at Howard Brown Health is inching toward a strike.

The collective bargaining agreement between Union Nurses of Howard Brown Health and the nonprofit LGBTQ+ health-care provider expired in August, and union members have been at the bargaining table with the company since May. But union members say management’s refusal to budge on key issues, like wages and nurses’ autonomy, led them to authorize a strike in early September.

“A strike honestly sounds miserable; we love to take care of our patients,” says James Share, a nurse at Howard Brown’s Uptown clinic. “But if we have to do it, we’ll do it.”

The last time the health center found itself in a similar situation was January 2023, when members of Howard Brown Health Workers United (

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