Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Union members and community allies rallied outside the Zablocki Veterans’ Administration (VA) Medical Center in Milwaukee on Friday to protest President Trump and Elon Musk’s cuts to our critical federal workforce.
Workers at the medical center are members of AFGE Local 3, the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (WFNHP), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 5000, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Wisconsin. Even before these latest funding attacks, nurses, supply technicians, social workers, housekeepers and other staff were already sounding the alarm about low-staffing levels impacting patient care. A recent internal memo published by the Associated Press showed that Musk’s DOGE is pushing to cut an additional 80,000 jobs—a staggering 20% of the VA department staff—which would make caring for the approximately 62,000 patients that come through the Milwaukee facility every year even more difficult.
“Quality health care is a critical need for our veterans,” said Monica Luecking-David, a nurse at the facility and the chapter president of the WFNHP. “None of us are disposable. The VA’s mission could not be achieved without each and every one of us.”
“Federal workers and public sector workers make our country right in countless ways that too often go unnoticed until they are not there. And then our country will come unglued,” said Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale.