About 70 nurses, social workers, chaplains, pharmacists and bereavement counselors at Hospice East Bay walked off the job Monday, launching a seven-day strike at the nonprofit's Pleasant Hill facility on Buskirk Avenue. The workers, represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, are protesting planned layoffs of 21 full-time employees — including the facility's own executive director — along with stalled contract talks, benefit cuts and staffing reductions they say will gut end-of-life care across the East Bay.
According to KRON4, the planned layoffs are set to take effect on Oct. 16, a date that would leave just two bereavement counselors to serve roughly 1,200 patients and their family members. The workers joined the union in November 2023 and, per the same report, still have not secured a first contract nearly three years later. Hospice East Bay says it will remain open throughout the strike, relying on contingency plans designed to maintain normal service.
Caseloads Set to Nearly Double Under Proposed Cuts
The stakes of the staffing fight go beyond the bereavement unit. Under the proposed reductions, social workers would see their caseloads climb from 30 to 40 patients while chaplains would be stretched from 50 to 80 patients apiece, according to KQED. The station also reports that a music therapy program and a children's grief program at the hospice have already been discontinued.
Dawn Torre said the hospice is about to have only two counselors left, and Claire Eustice said the hospice is about to lose caregivers, according to the seed reporting from Danville San Ramon. Hospice East Bay spokesperson Tonya Lyons said the organization remains committed to reaching a fair agreement, per that same report, while a Chapters Health System spokesperson did not respond to press inquiries Monday.
Union Alleges Labor Board Violations Amid Pay Dispute
The union has also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that Chapters Health System leadership laid off two employees from union positions and then offered to rehire them for the same roles without union protection, KRON4 reports. Chapters Health System leadership has proposed a 2.5% raise while retaining the ability to increase employee health insurance premiums at any time — a package the union says falls far short of what workers need.
Executive pay has become a flashpoint in the dispute, though the exact figure is in dispute. KQED reported that Chapters Health president and CEO Andrew Molosky earned $2.2 million in total compensation in 2024, while the National Union of Healthcare Workers put that figure at more than $2.5 million. Hospice News reports that contract bargaining has stagnated, with negotiations centered on compensation and benefit changes.
A Year-Old Takeover Reshaped Local Hospice Care
This is not the first time Hospice East Bay employees have walked out. Workers held a one-day strike on July 29, 2025, when roughly 80 represented employees picketed outside the same Pleasant Hill headquarters, according to KQED's earlier coverage. At that time, workers' initial contract proposal called for safe staffing ratios and a 5% annual wage increase for three years running.
The current standoff traces back to Chapters Health System's October 2025 takeover of Hospice East Bay, a nonprofit founded in 1977 that serves Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties, per the union. Chapters folded the organization into a newly formed regional network that also includes Hospice of Santa Cruz County along with facilities in Nevada and Oregon, KRON4 reports.
The broader financial pressures facing the industry help explain why the dispute has escalated. Hospice East Bay has said its operating losses grew by more than $4 million in 2024 compared with the year before, according to KQED's reporting on the 2025 strike. Statewide, 94% of hospice providers in California are now for-profit, KQED reports — a shift that has fueled union organizing, with more than 400 hospice workers across Northern California joining NUHW since 2022, according to the union.
