Politics
Veterans Affairs Workers, Unions Push Trump Administration to Reinstate Collective Bargaining Rights
Local Veterans Affairs workers are speaking out after losing their collective bargaining rights.
The Trump administration cut union contracts for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees earlier this month as part of a larger effort to strip federal workers of union protections.
About 400,000 workers across the country are being stripped of labor protections, which advocates say threatens the quality of veterans’ care.
VA workers are represented by unions such as the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and National Nurses United (NNU), among several others.
The move comes as the Trump administration continues its downsizing of the federal workforce, which will create sweeping staff cuts across several departments such as the Social Security Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Aimee Potter, a union steward with AFGE Local 789, said the end of collective bargaining rights means a lack of job security for VA workers. She said they also won’t be able to have a say in the workload and resources that help them serve patients.
“We have a lot of veterans who receive not only VA benefits, but also Social Security benefits, which provide them with safe and stable housing,” Potter said. “The ability to pay for their housing costs, transportation costs — so if any of those services are cut, we are definitely going to see an increase in homelessness among veterans.”
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has said that unions too often get in the way of veterans’ best interests, and that the move will ensure staffers are focused on best serving veterans.
“No one lost their job or was fired as a result of this move,” Department of Veterans Affairs press secretary Peter Kasperowicz told WTTW News in a statement. “Instead, about 1,900 union representatives, who had been collecting government salaries to do union work, have returned to full time VA work on behalf of Veterans. Terminating contracts for VA unions – which have repeatedly opposed significant, bipartisan VA reforms and rewarded bad employees for misconduct – is a huge win for Veterans.”
Henry Vega, a U.S. Army veteran who works at the Hines VA Hospital, said he’s already starting to see the negative effects of the union contract termination. He also relies on care from VA facilities and said he’s worried that staff shortages and cuts to resources could hurt him and his fellow service members.
“Sometimes you have to wait six months to see a cardiologist because they’re short-staffed,” Vega said. “What happens to the patient? They might have to go through the emergency department to get care.”
Anne Igoe, vice president of health systems at SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana, said workers and union organizers are seeking help from local leaders in hopes of getting bargaining rights reinstated.
“Workers are still standing with the union even though their protections are being cut,” Igoe said.
Eunice Alpasan contributed to this report.
