FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Matt Dorsey
(202) 550-6987
August 7, 2025
Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins informed employee unions that he is “implementing” Executive Order 14251, which effectively guts collective bargaining rights at the VA. Collins falsely claims the VA is not a medical and healthcare provider, but rather a national security agency, and therefore exempt from federal labor law under a so-called “national security” exception.
In doing so, Secretary Collins notified the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and the other unions representing VA employees that the Department no longer recognizes the labor organizations representing the vast majority of its workforce – including nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, crisis responders, mental health specialists, benefits specialists, housekeepers, electricians, food service workers, cemetery staff, janitors, and many others.
“The Trump administration’s claim that this move helps veterans is preposterous,” said Randy Erwin, NFFE National President. “VA healthcare professionals rely on their union membership to safely report mismanagement, expose cover-ups, and push back against political interference and corrupt private contracting. Eliminating unions eliminates those safeguards, which is exactly why they’re doing it. This is going to be a disaster for veterans’ care.”
“The Administration’s accusation that unions stand in the way of accountability is dead wrong. What we oppose is the replacement of trained VA personnel with private contractors who lack expertise in veteran care, answer to lower standards, cost more to taxpayers, and siphon billions in profits from a system meant to serve veterans. This administration and its privatization allies see veterans not as heroes, but as price tags.
“President Trump and Secretary Collins made it clear: Veterans’ lives are expendable if it means cutting staffing costs or silencing the workforce. VA employees – many of them veterans themselves – are the doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, and support staff that make up the most effective and compassionate veteran healthcare system in the world. We won’t let that be destroyed.
“Federal law protects collective bargaining rights, and that law applies to everyone, including the president and his administration. We will continue to fight this illegal action in the courts, in Congress, and in every forum necessary until the law is upheld, union rights are restored, and veteran care is protected once again.
“Trump thinks he can get rid of unions with the stroke of a pen, but he can’t. We aren’t going anywhere.”