Hundreds of caregivers at Kindred hospitals in Brea and Westminster in Orange County recently held a three-day Unfair Labor Practice strike as they continue fighting to secure a new union contract that addresses low wages that have led to constant worker turnover and chronic understaffing.
“Turnover here is so high, and that affects patient care because we need people to take care of the patients,” Kindred Westminster Respiratory Therapist Sherry Tran told Fox-11 in Los Angeles. “We’re really stressed out, burned out, and we’re exhausted. We’re here today to fight for a fair contract that respects and values the work we do here.”
The Fullerton Observer, the Voice of OC, and Becker’s Hospital Review also covered the strike, which ran from Tuesday, January 27 through Thursday, January 29.
The picket lines at both hospitals were filled with licensed vocational nurses, nursing assistants, housekeepers, and rehabilitation therapists, demanding that the company bring fair proposals to the table that would bring them closer to a contract agreement. The workers have been negotiating with Kindred since August 2025, but the company is still offering annual wage increases below the current inflation rate of 2.7 percent.
Matthew Garcia, a respiratory therapist who serves on the NUHW bargaining committee, told the Orange County Register that the facilities are critical components of the healthcare system, but Kindred has refused to pay workers enough to avoid rapid turnover that has contributed to understaffing.
“The turnover rate is fairly significant due to the low wages,” Garcia said. “We’re one of the lowest-paid hospitals in Orange County. Patients come to our hospital to get better and get back to their homes, but it’s hard for them to get the care they need when we’re always short-staffed because workers keep leaving.”
The 48-bed hospital in Brea and the 109-bed hospital in Westminster treat patients for longer stays, typically after being discharged from acute-care hospitals.
Kindred is part of Louisville, Kentucky-based ScionHealth, which is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Apollo reported $4.5 billion in profits last year, manages $751 billion in assets, and controls 220 hospitals across 36 states.
The contracts at both hospitals expired last summer, and workers warn that already low wages are putting patients at risk.
- In a union survey, 64 percent of workers reported that there is usually not enough staff in their department, and 70 percent said they can’t provide safe and timely care due to heavy workloads.
- More than one in four workers have left Kindred Brea and Westminster hospitals over the past two years.
- Between 2022 and 2025, the two hospitals combined for more than 80 substantiated investigations and fines totaling more than $22,000 issued by the California Department of Public Health.
“We’re seeking a contract that will help us better support our families and better care for our patients,” said Elias Hernandez, a monitor technician at Kindred Hospital Brea. “We know that low wages result in unsafe staffing levels and inadequate care, and we’re not going to let Kindred continue to exploit us and the patients we serve.”
The strike was based on an Unfair Labor Practice charge against Kindred for using cameras to illegally conduct surveillance on its workers and its failure to provide NUHW with the requested information about the surveillance.
The striking workers were supposed to return to their positions at 12 a.m. on Friday, but Kindred locked them out until 7 p.m., which will result in the hospital facing another Unfair Labor Practice charge.
