Hospice East Bay Workers Launch Seven-Day Strike

Dozens of workers at California-based Hospice East Bay on Monday, October 5, 2026, launched a seven-day strike involving 70 bereavement counselors, chaplains, nurses, social workers, and pharmacists, all members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) since 2023.

Workers cited high caseloads and long travel times amid a recent round of layoffs, additional terminations they say will worsen conditions and diminish care quality, and stagnated contract bargaining since the hospice's affiliation with Chapters Health System, with negotiations centered on compensation and changes to employee benefits.

Twenty-one additional full-time workers are set to be laid off effective October 16, 2026. After the layoffs, only two bereavement counselors would remain to serve a census of roughly 1,200 patients and their families, according to workers, who raised concerns about burnout risk.

Hospice East Bay, founded in 1977, serves three counties in northern California and operates Bruns House, a general hospice inpatient facility. It joined Florida-based nonprofit Chapters Health System in October 2025 as part of Chapters Health West, formed from the affiliation of four hospices.

Chapters Health System said it has established a continuity-of-care plan for the strike and continues to bargain in good faith toward a fair agreement, according to statements reported by Hospice News.