How Labor and Vets Are Fighting VA Privatization and Union Busting

Steve Early, Mark Smith, Oscar Arbulo, Suzanne Gordon, Josh Zeier

The murder of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nurse Alex Pretti during anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis last winter highlighted the role of federal workers in resistance to the Trump Administration. This workshop features two VA care-givers, a VA patient, and a healthcare reform advocate who will describe the on-going community-labor struggle to prevent the VA from being de-funded and dismantled. The panel will also report on union mobilization of military vets within their own ranks, efforts to build cross-union unity among federal labor organizations, and “Save The VA” coalition building with veterans’ groups and healthcare reformers.