U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has announced the implementation of Executive Order 14251, which would end collective bargaining rights for employees at the VA. Collins stated that the VA is a national security agency rather than a healthcare provider and therefore not subject to federal labor law protections under a “national security” exception.
The decision was communicated to unions representing VA employees, including the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE). The move means that the department will no longer recognize labor organizations representing workers such as nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, crisis responders, mental health specialists, benefits specialists, housekeepers, electricians, food service workers, cemetery staff, janitors and others.
Randy Erwin, NFFE National President, criticized the administration’s action. “The Trump administration’s claim that this move helps veterans is preposterous,” said Erwin. “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.”
Erwin also addressed accusations regarding union interference with accountability: “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.”
He continued: “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.”
Erwin concluded by stating: “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.”
