Since the 2014 waitlist crisis first entered the public consciousness, working people at the VA and the VA itself have been under have been under constant attack. They have endured nefarious legislation that rolls back civil servants’ due process rights, dealt with a loss of funding that has been funneled to the private, for-profit sector, and now must work against the 49,000 – and growing – vacancies plaguing VA medical centers nationwide. It’s death by a thousand cuts, and it must be stopped!
This year, AFGE has held a number of rallies to raise awareness of the vacancies issue, has held a summit with Reps. Mark Takano and Julia Brownley of California, and Rep. Anthony Brown of Maryland to discuss the importance of VA health care, and held a national press call recently to update the public on efforts on Capitol Hill and around the country to keep the VA from becoming dismantled.