VA Hospital Workers, Members of Congress Condemn Attacks on VA Workers and their Unions, Call for Congressional Support in Local Town Hall

By Caroline Rodriguez

VA Hospital Workers Shared Personal Stories, Demanded Lawmakers Pass Bipartisan Legislation to Protect the VA Workforce and Veterans’ Access to Care

*Watch the Full Recording Here*

CHICAGO — Amid looming threats to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Medicaid and attacks on federal unions, Veterans Health Administration workers and members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois (HCII), National Nurses United (NNU), and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), alongside elected officials including U.S. Representatives Robin Kelly (IL-02), Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), and Bill Foster (IL-11), State Senator Robert Peters, and Mayor of Evanston Daniel Biss, held a town hall Saturday June 21 to discuss the impact of the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to the VA, and called on lawmakers to pass bipartisan legislation to protect the VA workforce and veterans’ access to care.

During the event, VA hospital workers and veterans gave powerful testimony and described the challenges they face to provide care to our nation’s veterans, from severe understaffing to limited resources.

Veterans Administration (VA) Congressional Town Hall to talk about the attacks on the VA and the urgent need to pass America’s Workforce Protection Act. 6/21/25. SEIU HCII Office in Pilsen, Chicago.
Veterans Administration (VA) Congressional Town Hall to talk about the attacks on the VA and the urgent need to pass America’s Workforce Protection Act. 6/21/25. SEIU HCII Office in Pilsen, Chicago.
Veterans Administration (VA) Congressional Town Hall to talk about the attacks on the VA and the urgent need to pass America’s Workforce Protection Act. 6/21/25. SEIU HCII Office in Pilsen, Chicago.
Veterans Administration (VA) Congressional Town Hall to talk about the attacks on the VA and the urgent need to pass America’s Workforce Protection Act. 6/21/25. SEIU HCII Office in Pilsen, Chicago.

“We’ve already faced the threat of layoffs. We can’t afford to lose any more work. We all play a role, and it’s absolutely crucial,” said Curtis Burch, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center employee and SEIU HCII steward. “Giving back to my country means a lot to me because I made a commitment to serve the veterans. I made a commitment to serve our country, to protect our families. It’s time for the VA and Secretary Doug Collins to honor his duty and do the same.” 

The Department of Veterans Affairs is currently facing multiple threats from the Trump administration. The administration announced plans to cut 80,000 employees from the already understaffed VA, and in March, President Trump issued an executive order to strip more than one million federal government employees of their collective bargaining rights. In a show of force, SEIU, NNU, AFGE and other federal employees unions sued the administration. 

“All of these VA cuts are happening while the military budget rolls over the $1 trillion dollar mark in this budget. So we’re increasing the military budget for more weaponry while we’re cutting services for veterans. That’s shameful,” said U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia. 

As attacks on federal workers increase and threaten an already in-danger VA system, workers are calling on members of Congress to support the Protect America’s Workforce Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at restoring collective bargaining rights for unionized federal employees.

Just this past week, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins directed management at both Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and Hines VA Hospital to illegally terminate the union members’ collective bargaining agreement, and removed union representatives from the on-site union office and informed workers they no longer had the right to union representation. The ongoing attack on unions and collective bargaining rights comes amid the disturbing news that the Department of Veterans Affairs stripped language within VA hospital bylaws that explicitly prohibited doctors from discriminating against patients based on their union activity, political beliefs, or marital status. 

“We’re already having to outsource care. We’re sending patients out in the middle of the night because we don’t have the resources to guarantee their care all of the time,” said Heather Fallon, a VA emergency room nurse and member of NNU. “With these additional cuts, we’re just not going to be able to provide the quality care that our veterans depend on. We’re not going to have the budget to sustain ourselves. It’s a systematic destabilization of veterans’ services.”

Panelists also discussed the growing privatization of the VA system, and the threats it presents to the specialized, quality care VA hospitals provide. The private sector is currently siphoning billions of dollars from the system, with VA spending on private-sector care rising to $30 billion in 2023. 

“The attack on the VA system is real, rapid, and relentless. It’s happening quietly through legislation, behind closed doors, and in conversations none of us are invited to. If they can’t force Reductions in Force, they’ll find new ways to dismantle the system that millions of veterans and their families depend on,” said Aimee Potter, a VA social worker with AFGE. “Privatizing the VA, piecemeal or wholesale, doesn’t help veterans. It endangers them, [and] it’s a betrayal of the people who serve this country.”

The attacks on the VA workforce comes as Congressional Republicans propose massive cuts to Medicaid, which would rip healthcare away from millions of Americans, including our nation’s veterans and the VA workers that support them. As the Trump administration and Republicans continue to shortchange veterans and working families so they can push more tax breaks for billionaires, workers and members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois, National Nurses United, and the American Federation of Government Employees are fighting back and speaking out.