FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2026
March 27, 2026
Contact:
- NVAC Communications
- AFGE Communications
Court Orders VA to Prove Compliance with Collective Bargaining Injunction, Warns of Contempt
Categories:
VA
Federal Judge finds VA may have violated her order by attempting to re-terminate union contract hours before hearing
WASHINGTON — A federal judge today granted the Unions’ Motion to Enforce her March 13 preliminary injunction reinstating collective bargaining for employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs and will soon issue a written order detailing the court’s findings and the requirements that VA must now follow. Judge Melissa DuBose also went further, finding that the VA may have engaged in contempt of court through its blatant disregard of her order and its attempt to re-terminate the union contract just hours before the hearing. The judge ordered the VA to show cause why it should not be held in contempt and will give the Unions the chance to reply.
The ruling is a significant victory for the over 300,000 VA employees represented by AFGE’s National VA Council and a sharp rebuke of the agency’s repeated attempts to strip workers of their voice at work. Since the original March 13 order, the VA has resisted compliance at every turn, culminating in a last-minute effort to re-terminate the agreement before the court could act.
"VA workers did not choose this fight — the Trump administration brought it to them," said Mary Jean (MJ) Burke, President of the AFGE National VA Council. "VA employees come to work every day focused on one thing: serving veterans. They deserve a voice in their workplace. The judge’s consideration of contempt for the VA’s attempt to avoid compliance and disregard the Court’s order further demonstrates how little this administration cares for the frontline workers serving and protecting our veterans. The NVAC will not rest until every VA facility in this country is honoring our union contract."
“The VA told our members they had no union. They tried to strip away the contract that was won over decades of service by the nurses, housekeepers, claims processors and clinicians who show up every day to serve our nation’s veterans. And when a federal judge told them to stop, they tried to do it again mere hours before the hearing,” said Everett Kelley, National President, American Federation of Government Employees. “But AFGE is still here. We never went anywhere. And the court has made clear that the VA cannot ignore the law and our contract. Our members will not be silenced.”
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