Internal NFFE News
August 19, 2025
Registered nurses at the Department of Veterans Affairs, represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), joined veterans groups, federal unions, and community members in a town hall Thursday in Augusta, Ga., calling on the public to help defend federal workers and safeguard veterans’ health care at the VA.
The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to eliminate 30,000 positions by the end of the fiscal year, a move critics say will worsen chronic understaffing at VA facilities. An August 2024 Inspector General report found that 82% of VA facilities face severe nursing shortages, even as the number of veterans seeking care continues to climb.
At the same time, the administration is seeking to curb federal workers’ collective bargaining rights — a move unions say is aimed at silencing employees who speak out about unsafe conditions and harmful policy changes. In response, NNU, AFGE, NFFE, AFSCME, NAGE-SEIU, and SEIU have filed suit against the Trump administration.
Union leaders also warn of a deeper threat to the VA’s future: an internal “Red Team” analysis reported that private-sector care costs rose to $30 billion in fiscal year 2023, cautioning that the trend could erode the VA’s direct-care system and reduce options for veterans who rely on it.
Speakers at the town hall discussed the chaos brought on by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) along with the Trump administration on the federal workforce including illegal terminations, persisting efforts to strip federal workers of their union rights, and detrimental budget cuts to critical government agencies.
One of NFFE’s own, business representative and veteran himself Jake Pannell, had the opportunity to speak about the importance of the VA at this event.
“This is not about political parties, it is not about red or blue. It is about service to those who sacrificed, and to their families. The VA mission doesn’t have a party. It doesn’t have a campaign. It has a promise — to care for those who shall have borne the battle, and for their widow, and their orphan. Protecting the VA means protecting the civil servants who carry out that promise.”