'The Administration is Setting Us Up to Fail,' says VA Workers Union

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, February 15, the Department of Veterans Affairs quietly posted that the agency now has 48,985 vacancies ? up nearly 4,000 since the VA started posting vacancy totals in August 2018. The muted rollout of the data ? which is only tracked and posted because of a push for transparency from the American Federation of Government Employees ? follows Secretary Robert Wilkie's recent announcement to outsource care and shift funding away from the already short-staffed and underfunded agency.

"It is unconscionable to hear that while the VA is short nearly 49,000 workers ? 42,790 of whom are at the Veterans Health Administration ? Secretary Wilkie is plodding along with his plan to further starve the agency of desperately needed funding," said AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. "As the Secretary recently said himself, the 'VA is seeing more patients than ever before, more quickly than ever before, and Veterans are more satisfied with their care than they have been previously' ? which comes as the VHA has jumped from 35,000 vacancies in October 2017 to nearly 43,000 today."

Cox added, "So with the outstanding work being done by medical centers across the country, why are we looking to gut them further?"

Last month, the VA announced new access standards for VA health care that would harm veterans through inferior and delayed treatments as the integrated and specialized care offered by the VA is dismantled and replaced by private care that is demonstrably unable to deal with veterans' unique needs. Workers, medical experts, and members of Congress raised immediate concerns that the existing funding and staffing deficits will be exacerbated by funneling more money into the private, for-profit sector, and questioned the lack of transparency around the development and implementation of access for veterans.

"We believe that this push for further privatization cannot be allowed to happen, and the MISSION Act should not be implemented under the current schedule because the VA needs to do a thorough analysis of the huge impact it will have on veterans their receiving care here," said AFGE National Veterans Affairs Council President Alma Lee. Lee, who represents 250,000 workers at the VA, says there are alternative approaches that will increase access to care ? namely increased funding to achieve full-staffing.

"While the administration is setting us up to fail so they can dismantle veterans' preferred health care provider, there are thankfully allies in Congress who are working to ensure we can hire and retain the medical professionals we so desperately need," said Lee.

In early February, Rep. Mark Takano of California, introduced H.R. 1133 ? VA Employee Fairness Act ? to restore equal workplace rights to VA Title 38 health care professionals. H.R. 1133 already has 27 co-sponsors, and in mid-February was introduced as companion legislation in the Senate by Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

"Veterans are provided the best quality and timely care when the VA workforce can thrive," said Rep. Takano. "With more than 40,000 employee vacancies in the VHA alone, it is crucial to ensure that doctors, nurses, and other medical professional are equipped with the best tools to retain and recruit the best talent to serve veterans ? this bill will help make that possible."

"The nurses, physicians, and health care workers at our nation's VA medical centers, many of whom are veterans themselves, are the best at what they do. When they are able to collectively bargain and have their voices heard in the workplace, care improves for veterans. At a time when Americans are working harder and earning less for the time they put in, we should be making it easier for all workers to advocate for better working conditions, which leads to better veteran services and care," said Sen. Brown.

"Thank you to Rep. Mark Takano and Sen. Sherrod Brown for once again standing with the women and men who care for our nation's veterans," said Cox. "Without the ability to advocate for other health care employees working under stressful conditions, or the ability to advocate for better patient care, the VA is going to struggle to attract and retain the best and brightest in the medical field and veterans will be at greater risk. It's essential that Congress pass the VA Employee Fairness Act as soon as possible, so we can stop losing the professionals we have and hire the workers we need to continue serving those who have borne the battle."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees