AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announcement it was terminating the union contracts of hundreds of thousands of VA workers, including members of AFL-CIO affiliated unions:
Every American who cares about the fundamental freedoms of working people should be outraged by this attack on workers’ ability to speak out and stand up at the VA. This union-busting decision is an ambush on the people who care for our country’s veterans and their right to stand together in a union, and will without a doubt harm the lifesaving services veterans desperately need. It’s clear this is explicit retaliation against VA workers whose unions are standing up to the administration’s illegal actions in court and in the streets.
The Trump administration may think they can rip up our contracts and silence anyone who pushes back against their unlawful and anti-worker actions, but we aren’t going anywhere. The labor movement will continue to fight this all-out assault on workers with everything we have—and we’re calling on Americans across this country to join us.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) also responded:
“Secretary Collins’ decision to rip up the negotiated union contract for majority of its workforce is another clear example of retaliation against AFGE members for speaking out against the illegal, anti-worker, and anti-veteran policies of this administration,” stated AFGE National President Everett Kelley.
The letter notified AFGE that except for police officers, firefighters and security guards, “VA no longer recognizes AFGE as the exclusive representative of any other VA bargaining unit employee,” including nurses, doctors, benefits specialists, housekeepers, electricians, painters, food service workers, lawyers, dentists, pharmacists, crisis responders, mental health specialists, cemetery workers, janitors, and more.
“The real reason Collins wants AFGE out of the VA is because we have successfully fought against disastrous, anti-veteran recommendations from the Asset Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission which would have shut down several rural VA hospitals and clinics, opposed the Trump administration’s plan dismantle veteran health care through the cutting of 83,000 jobs, and consistently educated the American people about how private, for-profit veteran healthcare is more expensive and results in worse outcomes for veterans,” Kelley added. “We don’t apologize for protecting veteran healthcare and will continue to fight for our members and the veterans they care for.”
Additionally, Collins’ decision is inconsistent with Office of Personnel Management guidance which instructs agencies “not to terminate any CBAs until the conclusion of litigation,” and is contrary to recent administration representations in court that union contracts were not being terminated.
AFGE is assessing our options to challenge Secretary Collins’ decision and restore our members’ union rights.
The National Federation of Federal Employees’ (NFFE-IAM) also responded:
On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins informed employee unions that he is “implementing” Executive Order 14251, which effectively guts collective bargaining rights at the VA. Collins falsely claims the VA is not a medical and healthcare provider, but rather a national security agency, and therefore exempt from federal labor law under a so-called “national security” exception.
In doing so, Secretary Collins notified the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and the other unions representing VA employees that the Department no longer recognizes the labor organizations representing the vast majority of its workforce - including nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, crisis responders, mental health specialists, benefits specialists, housekeepers, electricians, food service workers, cemetery staff, janitors, and many others.
“The Trump administration’s claim that this move helps veterans is preposterous,” said Randy Erwin, NFFE National President. “VA healthcare professionals rely on their union membership to safely report mismanagement, expose cover-ups, and push back against political interference and corrupt private contracting. Eliminating unions eliminates those safeguards, which is exactly why they’re doing it. This is going to be a disaster for veterans’ care.”
“The Administration’s accusation that unions stand in the way of accountability is dead wrong. What we oppose is the replacement of trained VA personnel with private contractors who lack expertise in veteran care, answer to lower standards, cost more to taxpayers, and siphon billions in profits from a system meant to serve veterans. This administration and its privatization allies see veterans not as heroes, but as price tags.
“President Trump and Secretary Collins made it clear: Veterans’ lives are expendable if it means cutting staffing costs or silencing the workforce. VA employees – many of them veterans themselves - are the doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, and support staff that make up the most effective and compassionate veteran healthcare system in the world. We won’t let that be destroyed.
“Federal law protects collective bargaining rights, and that law applies to everyone, including the president and his administration. We will continue to fight this illegal action in the courts, in Congress, and in every forum necessary until the law is upheld, union rights are restored, and veteran care is protected once again. “Trump thinks he can get rid of unions with the stroke of a pen, but he can’t. We aren’t going anywhere.”
National Nurses United (NNU) also responded:
President Trump continues waging class warfare against working people of America.
Today’s announcement to terminate our union contract, along with the contracts of our union siblings, including American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (AFGE); National Association of Government Employees (NAGE); National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE); National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU); and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is an attack on those who dedicate their lives in the service of others.
This is just the latest salvo in the battle to break the spirit of working people in this country. But we will not be broken. We will continue to fight for and assert our constitutionally guaranteed collective bargaining rights and to speak freely against policies that hurt veterans and the public. That is our duty as nurses, and we will continue to be fierce advocates for our patients. This is in spite of Trump’s administration unprecedented, outrageous, and irresponsible attacks.
NNU recognizes this effort to erase our collective bargaining agreements is a blatant attempt to bust our unions and to silence the nurses and workers who are standing on the frontlines to protect our country’s fundamental institutions.
We know this administration is hellbent on silencing nurses and other VA workers to steamroll the destruction of the VA. This administration is marching toward the privatization of veteran care so they can move billions of taxpayer money out of the VA system, which is proven to provide excellent veteran-centric care, and into the coffers of private health care corporations run by billionaires.
This president has made it clear he has no respect for the Constitution, but we believe strongly that our right to join together to collectively bargain is constitutionally protected. It cannot be swept away through an overreach of an executive order based on spurious claims.
We will continue to pursue legal action with our fellow unions in the case filed on April 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging President Trump’s March 27 executive order. His executive order removed collective bargaining rights of nearly a million federal workers. The unions argue the executive order was an unconstitutional retaliation against the unions for engaging in activity protected by the First Amendment.
Nurses never abandon our patients, and we will continue to fight for the funding and safe staffing levels that our patients deserve. As union nurses, we understand that collective bargaining rights are fundamental to carrying out our critical role as patient advocates. It is because of VA nurses' ability to speak up about patient safety through our union that our nation's veterans receive the highest level of care.
Studies have shown unionized hospitals have better outcomes than non-unionized hospitals because nurses and other staff are able to speak up about their concerns and hold management accountable. Veterans deserve nurses who are free to advocate for their care without fear of retaliation, discipline, or losing their jobs.