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.
Across more than 10 cities, union members and veterans gathered to fight back against the Trump administration’s aggressive attacks on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staffing and collective bargaining agreements.
The rallies followed the VA's unilateral cancellation of nearly all of its union contracts last week. Workers who provide essential care and services for returning service members are represented by unions like AFGE, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), National Nurses United (NNU), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) and the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE/SEIU).
“Unfair treatment in the workplace will skyrocket,” said Aimee Potter, a social worker and AFGE Local 789 union steward who spoke in Chicago. “[VA Secretary Douglas] Collins claims this will improve veterans’ care, but the truth is, this decision paves the way for mass job cuts, terminations and the hollowing-out of the agency.”
"They canceled my appointment because they literally do not have the staff to cover everybody," said veteran Alissa Ellman who attended a rally in Syracuse, New York. "The waiting room was empty, and the last three visits I’ve had to the VA, the bathrooms in the Buffalo VA have been absolutely filthy. Why? Not because people don’t want to do a good job, don’t want to clean, they’ve been clean for the last 20 years while I’ve been getting health care there, it’s because they are lacking in staff.”
“The call to order is to stop trying to privatize the VA, to stop trying to give our health care, our health care service to a private sector person that’s going to make a profit off of it,” said Nashville, Tennessee, rally goer and Navy veteran Jim Wohlgemuth. “The government for decades, for decades, has been more than happy to send us overseas to wherever and then leave us alone when we get back.”