Unionized HCA employees represented by SEIU are picketing nationwide to demand a path to a $25/hour minimum, cost-of-living raises, paid leave and enforceable staffing protections. Workers say stagnant wages—some as low as $16.80/hour—leave them struggling while HCA reported $6.8 billion in 2025 profits and authorized a $10 billion buyback. SEIU leaders and nurses warn staffing shortages are affecting patient care as negotiations continue.
HCA Workers Picket Nationwide for $25/Hour, Stronger Staffing and Benefits as Company Posts $6.8B Profit
HCA Sunrise hospital workers protesting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 6 August 2026.Photograph: Jason Karsh, SEIU Local 1107
Unionized employees at HCA Healthcare—the largest for-profit hospital operator in the United States—are staging picket protests at facilities across the country as contract negotiations continue. Workers represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) want higher pay, enforceable staffing protections and stronger benefits to address rising living costs and persistent workplace strains.
What Workers Are Asking For
Roughly 22,000 U.S. HCA employees represented by SEIU are seeking a clear path to a $25-per-hour minimum wage, stronger wage scales, cost-of-living–adjusted raises, paid vacation and sick leave, and enforceable workplace protections, including nurse-to-patient staffing guarantees.
Personal Impact
Esther Reyes, a single mother of three who has worked as an environmental services technician at Las Palmas Hospital in El Paso, Texas, for two years, says her $16.80 hourly wage leaves her unable to cover basic bills.
“Sometimes I need to decide—maybe this month I pay the water bill, then another month pay for gas—but most of the time I’m not able to pay for everything,” Reyes said. “I’m struggling. If they gave us the raise we want, it would be a huge blessing. I work for my family. I work for my kids.”
Staffing Concerns and Patient Safety
Nurses and union leaders say chronic staffing shortages are harming both workers and patients. Jody Domineck, a pediatric nurse at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas and secretary-treasurer of SEIU Local 1107, noted studies linking heavier patient loads to increased risks and described the emotional toll on caregivers.
“I personally have had to walk away from a parent who was crying in the hallway because I had to care for other patients,” Domineck said. “Those are the kinds of decisions nurses are forced to make when they have more and more patients.”
Company Finances and Executive Pay
HCA reported $6.8 billion in profits for 2025, a 17.8% increase from 2024, and in early 2026 authorized a $10 billion stock buyback program. CEO Sam Hazen received more than $26.5 million in total compensation in 2025—roughly 420 times the company’s median employee pay of $62,955—figures SEIU leaders cite when pressing for higher frontline pay.
Negotiations and Company Response
Informational pickets and demonstrations are planned at more than a dozen HCA hospitals across California, Texas, Nevada and Florida while bargaining continues. HCA said only a small number of affiliated hospitals are engaged in local negotiations with SEIU chapters and emphasized its commitment to good-faith bargaining.
A spokesperson for Sunrise Health System said: "At Sunrise Health System, we value every member of our team and remain committed to reaching a fair agreement through good-faith negotiations. While we respect our employees' right to peacefully demonstrate, portraying this as a patient safety issue is inaccurate. The outstanding issues are about compensation. We believe the best place to reach an agreement is at the bargaining table, and we look forward to continuing negotiations on August 11 and 12."
What’s Next
Union leaders are pushing for enforceable staffing ratios to be included in the next contract, and additional local actions and informational pickets are expected as negotiations continue. Both sides have reiterated a preference for resolving differences at the bargaining table.
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