FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2026
March 13, 2026
Contact:
- NVAC Communications
- AFGE Communications
Court Orders Restoration of AFGE Veterans Affairs Collective Bargaining Agreement
Categories:
VA
AFGE Applauds Judge’s Decision Ordering VA Secretary Doug Collins to restore AFGE National VA Council contract covering more than 320,000 employees
WASHINGTON — Today, the American Federation of Government Employees National Veterans Affairs Council (AFGE/NVAC), the largest union representing more than 320,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, celebrates Judge Melissa DuBose’s March 13, 2026 decision granting the Union’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Judge DuBose ordered the reinstatement of the master collective bargaining agreement between AFGE/NVAC and the VA, as well as all local and mid-term agreements, finding that Secretary Collins and the VA likely violated the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.
On August 6, 2025, Secretary Collins terminated the AFGE/NVAC collective bargaining agreement. Secretary Collins, however, did not terminate all VA collective bargaining agreements, but only those with unions that had opposed the Trump administration’s attacks on VA workers and the veterans they serve. Shortly thereafter, AFGE/NVAC filed a lawsuit in Providence, Rhode Island alleging that Secretary Collins’ decision to terminate the collective bargaining agreement was unlawfully based on AFGE and NVAC’s protected First Amendment activity, and that the termination further violated the Administrative Procedure Act and requested that the court issue a preliminary injunction reinstating the collective bargaining agreement while the case is litigated.
Judge DuBose’s decision rightly found that AFGE/NVAC is likely to succeed on these claims and that the actions of Secretary Collins and the VA are causing irreparable harm to AFGE/NVAC and the employees it represents. In her decision, Judge DuBose found that “the termination of the Master CBA on August 6 seems substantially motivated by the Plaintiffs’ history and frequency of vocally opposing changes to labor policies."
NVAC President Mary Jean “MJ” Burke issued the following statement:
“Despite this administration’s shameful and hostile attempts to silence VA workers and perpetuate falsehoods that they have ‘no union,’ the leaders and members of AFGE/NVAC stand together with a clear message: we are still here.
“For decades, AFGE/NVAC has been advocating to strengthen, staff, and fund the VA to ensure it remains the nation’s best health care system. The backbone of the VA is not the senior executives at 810 Vermont Avenue but the housekeepers, claims processors, cemetery caretakers, police officers, clinicians, and support staff who show up to work every single day to provide care and services to veterans and their families.
“As unionists, it’s our duty to stand up for what’s right and hold the VA accountable. We are a nation of laws. Every American knows the importance of free speech, the separation of powers, and the protections guaranteed to us in our nation’s Constitution. Each of us owes a debt of gratitude to the veterans and servicemembers who fought to defend these principles.
“We are grateful for today’s court decision, but there is still work to do. The Union will not be deterred. Our members will continue carrying out the VA’s mission every day in service to those who served.”
AFGE National President Everett Kelley issued the following statement:
"Secretary Collins singled out AFGE and our members for retaliation because we refused to stay silent about cuts and changes at the VA that would harm veterans. His decision to exempt other unions from the President's executive order and then terminate AFGE/NVAC's collective bargaining agreement made the retaliation impossible to deny.
“When the VA signed its contract with AFGE/NVAC, it made a binding commitment to provide AFGE/NVAC-represented nurses, doctors, and other VA staff with the rights and support they need to care for our veterans. That contract cannot be unilaterally torn up. The VA's actions didn't just violate the law. Those same actions put veterans' care at risk by undermining the very people dedicated to serving them.
“Today's ruling holds this administration accountable and makes clear: no one can retaliate against workers for standing up for their rights. We are pleased the court has restored the largest union contract of VA employees and protected both the federal workforce and the veterans who depend on them."
AFGE/NVAC will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure that the VA complies with today’s decision.
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