In reaction to proposed budget cuts, staffing shortages, and efforts to privatize veteran services, VA nurses, union activists, and veterans rallied in Wilmington last week.
As part of a national movement to “demand a fully funded and fully staffed VA”, nurses and union supporters voiced their concerns about the recent changes outside of Senator Ted Budd’s Wilmington office.
The Office of Inspector General found that 79% of VA facilities have a severe shortage of nurses, with almost 1 million licensed nurses not currently working. The rally intended to urge North Carolina Senator Ted Budd to sign a pledge to do the following:
- Appropriately fund the VA, instead of funneling funds into the private sector.
- Fight against hiring freezes to restore safe staffing levels at VA facilities.
- Restore collective bargaining rights for VA nurses and federal employees.
According to the Office of Inspector General survey, four North Carolina VA offices have severe clinical shortages. The four offices include Durham, Salisbury, Asheville, and Fayetteville.
“The nurses just want to do their jobs,” Liz Shuler, the president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, told Wilmington Star News. “They just want to provide for their patients and do the work that is helping veterans and their families.”
With the Trump administration consistently undermining the importance of resources for veterans, restoring collective bargaining rights for VA workers in unions is fundamental in the fight for equity in funding and job retention.
According to the National Labor Relations Board, having collective bargaining rights means “having the right to bargain collectively with your employer through a representative that you and your coworkers choose.” The Trump administration and Senator Ted Budd are complacent in restoring these rights for VA workers, and as a result, VA facilities are losing crucial employees amongst a devastating lack of funding and support.
Attention to VA shortages and funding is imperative to making sure that veterans are provided the care they deserve.
It’s time for Sen. Ted Budd to acknowledge the woes of veterans and VA nurses by opposing privatizing the VA and helping restore collective bargaining rights for government employees.
