Posts tagged Department of Veterans Affairs
VA re-terminates AFGE contract for 300K employees, despite court order to restore it
March 30, 2026 // The Office of Personnel Management initially told agencies to hold off on terminating labor contracts with unions while legal challenges were still pending. But OPM reversed course last month, when it advised agencies to proceed with either amending or fully canceling their collective bargaining agreements. In granting her preliminary injunction, DuBose wrote that she did not determine whether the Trump administration exceeded its legal authority when it issued its executive orders rolling back collective bargaining rights. The legality of the executive order is still under review by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
WSJ Op-ed: Republicans for Federal Worker Collective Bargaining
December 15, 2025 // The 20 GOP union abettors are Don Bacon (Neb.), Mike Bost (Ill.); Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie (Pa.); Gabe Evans (Colo.); Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota, Michael Lawler, Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.); David Joyce and Michael Turner (Ohio); Thomas Kean Jr., Christopher Smith and Jefferson Van Drew (N.J.); Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zachary Nunn (Iowa); Pete Stauber (Minn.); David Valadao (Calif.) and Derrick Van Orden (Wis.). Many of these Republicans represent swing districts, but making government less efficient and responsive to the American people is unlikely to help them win re-election.
13 Republicans Vote to Nullify Donald Trump’s Executive Order
December 11, 2025 // Democratic Representative Jared Golden, who led the bill, forced a vote on it by using a mechanism known as a discharge petition. The Congressional procedure means lawmakers can force a vote on a piece of legislation against the wishes of the leadership on the condition that it has majority support in the House.
House majority forces vote on bill to restore collective bargaining for most federal employees
November 18, 2025 // Meanwhile, another bipartisan group of lawmakers is also leading a bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for VA employees. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) are leading that bill. The National Treasury Employees Union, as well as the National Weather Service Employees Organization and the Patent Office Professional Association, are also suing the Trump administration over its collective bargaining rollback. Federal courts in D.C. will hold proceedings in both cases next month.
Furloughed federal workers face delays getting unemployment pay during shutdown
November 4, 2025 // The specifics vary. Massachusetts has a high-end weekly benefit of $1,105 per week for up to 30 weeks. In Mississippi, it’s no more than $235 weekly for up to 26 weeks. Roughly half the states pay less than $600 a week maximum, according to U.S. Department of Labor numbers. Not everyone gets the maximum weekly rate. Some states offer fewer than 20 weeks. And the limits can grow in some states when unemployment rates are particularly high. Around the nation’s capital, the maximum weekly payment is $444 in Washington, D.C., $430 in Maryland and $378 in Virginia. In Texas, where Avila-Thomas lives, the weekly maximum is $605, for up to 26 weeks.
This Federal Bureaucrat Allegedly Lied About Taking Money From His Union
September 27, 2025 // The indictment, obtained by The Daily Signal, also alleges that Lendo “did take and carry away, with intent to steal and purloin, money from one or more bank accounts, of a value exceeding $1,000” between July 18, 2014, and July 30, 2021. Lendo was no longer serving as president of the union in May, according to the Department of Labor. As recently as August, Lendo listed the VA as his employer when giving $150 to the AFGE’s political action committee.
Louisville union members urge lawmakers to protect bargaining rights
September 8, 2025 // John Hetzel is the president of the Louisville chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees. He said federal and veterans’ rights need to return to employees. “Specifically, that is stripping people of their bargaining rights and their contracts. We just had that happen to us at the VA, and it affected 300,000 employees, and it’s devastating,” Hetzel said. Hetzel’s union and other allies are calling for support on HR 2550. That would overturn the president’s executive order that removes collective bargaining rights for workers at more than 30 federal agencies.
VA redirects millions in wasteful union spending back to Veterans
August 27, 2025 // In FY24, the following VA employees were on taxpayer-funded union time, performing work for unions instead of providing care for Veterans: More than 1,000 VA employees in direct patient-care roles. Six registered nurses who collectively earned nearly $1.2 million per year in wages and benefits. Five attorneys who collectively earned $1.25 million per year. Four pharmacists who collectively earned more than $700,000 per year. One physician’s assistant who earned $225,000 per year. One Veterans claims examiner who earned $190,000 per year.
USDA moves to end employee union contracts, documents show
August 17, 2025 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture moved to terminate union contracts with thousands of employees of its animal health and food safety inspection agencies, according to documents seen by Reuters, as one union on Wednesday challenged the firings in court. The notices sent to union leaders at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Food Safety and Inspection Service on Tuesday evening said the action was aligned with President Donald Trump's March executive order to exclude some federal workers from collective bargaining because their agencies have national security missions, the documents show.
Unions’ battle for survival hits new wave with Trump termination of bargaining agreements
August 16, 2025 // “The Teamsters contributed to the NRCC and a sprawling list of House Republicans – signaling a monumental shift of working class voters towards the GOP,” the organization highlighted in an email this week. Beyond the court battles, unions are hopeful Congress could take up a discharge petition that would force the House to take a vote on a bill that would overturn Trump’s March order.