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Letter to the Hon. Robert Wilkie, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs - Norcross, Brown Lead Bipartisan Letter Pushing Back Against Department Of Veterans Affairs' Union-Busting Efforts

Letter

By: Donald Norcross, John Garamendi, T.J. Cox, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Rosa DeLauro, Donna Shalala, Mike Quigley, Joe Kennedy III, David Trone, Betty McCollum, Frank Pallone, Jr., Susie Lee, Adriano Espaillat, Marcia Fudge, Dwight Evans, Elaine Luria, Mark Pocan, Ruben Gallego, Zoe Lofgren, Gil Cisneros, Joe Courtney, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Chuy Garcia, Jim McGovern, Anthony Brown, Angie Craig, Jeff Van Drew, Dina Titus, Max Rose, Marcy Kaptur, Brendan Boyle, Sheila Jackson Lee, Adam Smith, Mark DeSaulnier, Julia Brownley, Nanette Barragán, Darren Soto, Hank Johnson, Jr., Jan Schakowsky, Ayanna Pressley, Jamie Raskin, Collin Peterson, Albio Sires, Kathleen Rice, Eliot Engel, Anthony Gonzalez, Susan Wild, Don Beyer, Jr., Gwen Moore, Raul Grijalva, Anna Eshoo, Linda Sánchez, Scott Peters, Ted Deutch, Dan Lipinski, Clay Higgins, John Sarbanes, Brenda Lawrence, Annie Kuster, Ben Luján, Jr., Jerry Nadler, Joe Morelle, Brian Fitzpatrick, Steve Cohen, Pramila Jayapal, Jerry McNerney, Katie Hill, Mark Takano, Eleanor Norton, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Raja Krishnamoorthi, Seth Moulton, Elijah Cummings, Ilhan Omar, Tom Malinowski, Thomas Suozzi, José Serrano, Tim Ryan, Madeleine Dean, Donald McEachin, Ron Kind, Barbara Lee, Tony Cárdenas, Alan Lowenthal, Charlie Crist, Jr., David Scott, Brad Schneider, Stephen Lynch, Chellie Pingree, Kilili Sablan, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Grace Meng, Nita Lowey, Earl Blumenauer, Conor Lamb, Jennifer Wexton, Donald Young, Eric Swalwell, Ted Lieu, Mike Levin, Kathy Castor, Abby Finkenauer, Cheri Bustos, Bill Keating, Dan Kildee, Bennie Thompson, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nydia Velázquez, Paul Tonko, Peter DeFazio, Mike Doyle, Jr., Suzan DelBene, Ann Kirkpatrick, Ro Khanna, Norma Torres, Juan Vargas, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Bobby Rush, John Yarmuth, Dutch Ruppersberger, Rashida Tlaib, Chris Pappas, Deb Haaland, Yvette Clarke, Anthony Brindisi, Kurt Schrader, David Cicilline, Rick Larsen
Date: June 10, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Employment and Affirmative Action Veterans

Dear Secretary Wilkie,

We are writing this letter regarding the collective bargaining rights of federal workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We are deeply concerned that the VA has pursued anti-labor policies with the union representing 260,000 of its frontline employees, the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (AFGE).

We believe the VA may be acting to precipitate a breakdown in negotiations by insisting on proposals that are similar to specific provisions of Executive Orders 13836, 13837, and 13839. Such proposals make it appear that the VA is seeking to circumvent the order of the United States District Court that enjoined many provisions of the Executive Orders.

Furthermore, beyond conflicts with the enjoined Executive Orders, we are alarmed that the VA's initial contract proposal is a gross departure from the current contract in place between the VA and AFGE. We are concerned that these actions will have a detrimental effect on veterans depending on the VA for medical care and other vital services.

Notably, the VA proposal includes limiting medical professionals in reporting violations that could threaten patient safety, bars employees from filing grievances against unjust disciplinary actions, and removes the ability of workers to challenge employer errors on payroll.

If the contract VA proposes was implemented, it would diminish labor protections and the collective bargaining rights that Congress intended, and would have a severe, destabilizing effect on agency operations, employee morale and the VA's ability to deliver high quality healthcare and benefits to America's Veterans.

As such, we strongly encourage the VA to bargain with AFGE in good faith, in full accordance with the established ground rules, and with the objective of improving care for our veterans. Unions representing VA workers help improve the care veterans receive and the services they rely on by creating an efficient working environment.

Thank you for your consideration.


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