“Trump and Musk are thoughtlessly axing thousands of VA staff, threatening to fire thousands more, and fighting to take away the bargaining rights of all VA staff on top of it. This bill is an alternative approach.”
Washington, D.C. —Yesterday, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D‑PA) cosponsored the VA Employee Fairness Act, a bill that expands collective‑bargaining power to VA nurses, physicians, and other frontline health care professionals while President Trump attacks collective bargaining rights of VA employees and Elon Musk’s DOGE purge hollows out the agency’s workforce.
Pennsylvania is home to nearly 800,000 veterans who depend on VA hospitals in Pittsburgh, Philly, Wilkes-Barre, Erie, and Lebanon. Since the DOGE cuts and layoffs began, VA job vacancies have climbed, leaving fewer staff to serve our veterans. Expanding union rights will help hire and retain the health care providers those facilities desperately need.
“If you care about veterans, you must take care of the people who treat and keep them healthy. Trump and Musk are thoughtlessly axing thousands of VA staff, threatening to fire thousands more, and fighting to take away the bargaining rights of all VA staff on top of it. This bill is an alternative approach,” said Senator Fetterman. “We should expand collective bargaining rights at the VA to include registered nurses, doctors, and other healthcare providers. This bill gives VA health workers a seat at the negotiating table, to advocate for safe staffing levels, fair schedules, and the resources they need to keep our veterans alive and well.”
The VA Employee Fairness Act—introduced by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and co-led by U.S. Representative and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Mark Takano (D-CA-39)—would expand collective bargaining rights to VA health care professionals, including registered nurses, physicians, optometrists, chiropractors, and others. Currently, Section 7422 of Title 38 USC restricts the ability of these workers to speak freely about poor working conditions and resolve disputes with management. As a result, the quality of patient care has often deteriorated as problems in VA facilities go unaddressed.
“This Administration cannot continue to slash and burn the VA in the dark,” said Senator Duckworth. “As DOGE cuts continue, it’s as urgent as ever that Congress empowers VA health care professionals with the same bargaining rights and protections as other federal employees so they can speak out freely against any problems or challenges they’re enduring at this critical time for the VA.”
“VA healthcare employees work tirelessly to provide high-quality care to our nation’s veterans and their families. The VA Employee Fairness Act would grant these indispensable workers the collective bargaining rights they deserve and have been fighting for while improving VA employee retention. Passing this bill is the right thing to do. This legislation is more critical than ever, given the Administration’s efforts to fire VA employees and make cuts that continue to diminish VA employee morale,” said Ranking Member Takano.
Along with Fetterman, the legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA). The legislation was previously led by U.S. Senator Brown of Ohio.
Along with Takano, the legislation is cosponsored in the House by U.S. Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL-07), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), Linda Sanchez (D-CA-39), Maxine Waters (D-CA-35), Scott Peters (D-CA-52), Juan Vargas (D-CA-51), Diana DeGette (D-CO-01), John Larson (D-CT-01), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL), Max Frost (D-FL-10), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20), Lucy McBath (D-GA-07), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Frank Mrvan (D-IN-01), Seth Moulton (D-MA-06), Stephen Lynch (D-MA-08), William Keating (D-MA-09), Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05), Rashia Tlaib (D-MI-12), Herb Conaway (D-NJ-03), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), Tim Kennedy (D-NY-26), Brendan Boyle (D-PA-02), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05), Gabe Amo (D-RI-01), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37), Jennifer Mccellan (D-VA-04), Adam Smith (D-WA-09), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-03), Rick Larsen (D-WA-02), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), Suhas Subramayan (D-VA-10), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Joe Morelle (D-NY-25), Jared Golden (D-ME-02), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Angie Craig (D-MN-02), Donald Norcross (D-NJ-01), Greg Stanton (D-AZ-09), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Judy Chu (D-CA-32), Steven Horsford (D-CA-32), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Val Hoyle (D-OR-04), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Pat Ryan (D-NY-18), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Mike Thompson (D-CA-04), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29), Dan Goldman (D-NY-10), Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02), Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), Julie Johnson (D-TX-32), Sri Thaneder (D-MI-13), Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03), Sarah McBride (D-DE-AL), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Andrea Salinas (D-OR-06), Chris Pappas (D-NH-01) and Grace Meng (D-NY-06).
The legislation is endorsed by National Nurses United (NNU), the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of Labor (AFL), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), VoteVets and Union Veterans Council of AFL-CIO.
“By granting VA nurses the ability to bargain collectively on issues related to patient care, the VA Employee Fairness Act would make the VA a safer place both for nurses and our veterans,” said Irma Westmoreland, RN, and chair of Veterans Affairs for National Nurses United. “VA nurses are fierce advocates for veterans, and restoring their full union rights empowers them as they fulfill this most sacred duty. Nurses will never abandon their patients, and they will continue to fight for the best care for our nation’s veterans.”
The full bill text is available here.
