Unionized hospice workers in Pleasant Hill begin weeklong strike

Approximately 70 unionized healthcare workers at Hospice East Bay in Pleasant Hill walked off the job on Monday, launching a weeklong strike against their employer. The labor action, organized by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, protests scheduled job terminations and stalled negotiations over an inaugural collective bargaining agreement. Union members gathered outside the hospice's administrative headquarters along Buskirk Avenue, carrying picket signs and calling on management to halt planned job cuts that they warn will harm patient care.

For hundreds of terminally ill patients and grieving families across central Contra Costa County, the labor dispute has sparked urgent concerns regarding end-of-life palliative support and bereavement services. Frontline caregivers, including specialized nurses, social workers, and spiritual counselors, argue that drastic staffing reductions threaten to undermine compassionate bedside care during families' most vulnerable moments. Community members and patient relatives joined the informational picket lines on Monday to express solidarity with hospice staff and urge parent executives to prioritize bedside caregiving over administrative cuts.

Hospice East Bay operated as an independent nonprofit healthcare provider in Contra Costa County for more than 48 years before being acquired in October 2025 by Florida-based Chapters Health System. Frontline staff voted to unionize with the National Union of Healthcare Workers in 2023, seeking binding contract protections and workplace equity, but have not yet achieved a ratified labor agreement. The union has filed formal unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the corporate parent organization of withholding scheduled merit pay increases and delaying bargaining.

At the heart of the labor confrontation is Chapters Health System's plan to eliminate 21 full-time healthcare positions effective Friday, October 16. Union representatives warn that the cuts would gut the bereavement counseling department from a robust regional team to just two clinicians tasked with supporting approximately 1,200 grieving families throughout the county. Hospice management stated that facilities remain open during the seven-day strike using temporary replacement workers, with administrative inquiries handled at (925) 887-5678.

The strike is scheduled to continue through next Monday, with daily picket lines planned from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM outside 3470 Buskirk Avenue in Pleasant Hill. Union negotiators have called on Chapters Health System leadership to return to the bargaining table with a federal mediator before the October 16 layoff deadline takes effect. Local civic leaders and healthcare advocates are monitoring developments closely, emphasizing that compassionate end-of-life services remain an indispensable public healthcare pillar across Contra Costa County.