VETERANS FIERCELY CONDEMN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AFTER STRIPPING UNION RIGHTS FROM VETERAN AFFAIRS WORKERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Common Defense, a grassroots organization of veterans fighting for justice and accountability, fiercely condemned the Trump administration’s cancellation of union contracts at the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

This executive order, cloaked in flimsy national security excuses, strips nearly 350,000 VA workers, many of whom are veterans themselves, of their hard-fought rights to fair representation and arbitration. 

"These workers are the backbone of the VA, ensuring our fellow veterans get the care and support they’ve earned. By gutting their union protections, this administration is attacking the very people who keep the VA running, risking worse care, longer wait times, and a hollowed-out system. This isn’t about reform; it’s about silencing those who stand up for what’s right," said Naveed Shah, Army veteran and Political Director of Common Defense. 

We stand with our union allies like SEIU, AFGE and NNU, which have fought for VA workers rights for nearly 100 years. We’ve got the backs of our VA brothers and sisters. 

We demand the immediate reversal of this order and call for policies that strengthen, not sabotage, the VA’s mission to serve veterans. The impacts of this contract cancellation will likely be broad and dangerous, potentially affecting everything from staffing and retention, to disrupting continuity of care, to weakening healthcare providers ability to advocate for our veterans.

Our fight for justice doesn’t stop here. As an organization, Common Defense will keep pushing until every veteran and worker is respected.

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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.