VA workers, supporters to rally against union busting

Members of AFGE Local 3197 and supporters will gather Tuesday outside the VA hospital in South Seattle

SEATTLE, WA (August 11, 2025) — In a stunning display of union busting, head of the Department of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins stripped more than 400,000 federal workers at Veterans Affairs of union rights last week, including hundreds of workers in Washington state. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents many VA workers, has decried this anti-worker move by Collins and the Trump administration as a clear act of retaliation against unions that have stood up to illegal attacks on labor rights.

In a statement, AFGE shared that Collins notified the union in a letter 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.

Protestors show support for the workers outside the Seattle VA hospital in June.

“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,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley.

“We don’t apologize for protecting veteran healthcare and will continue to fight for our members and the veterans they care for,” continued Kelley.

Collins’ move to deprive workers of labor rights goes against a previous directive from the Trump administration advising agency heads not to terminate any union contracts until a court challenge has been resolved.

Workers at the Seattle VA hospital represented by AFGE Local 3197 are taking a stand against attacks on their labor rights that they fear will weaken the essential services they provide veterans and threatens the VA healthcare system that benefits both veterans and civilians alike. Local 3197 will rally Tuesday in front of the VA hospital in South Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, and encourages supporters to join them in lining the street outside the facility.

TAKE A STAND: rally with AFGE Local 3197 Tuesday, August 12 from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m., outside the S Columbian Way entrance to the Seattle VA hospital (1660 S Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108).