Nearly 100 protesters gathered outside the Iowa City VA Medical Center on Wednesday, Aug. 27, opposing what they call “escalating Trump administration attacks on VA care, VA employees, and their union.” Passing cars honked in support, dogs symbolically barked from open car windows, and fists of solidarity waved as drivers went by.
The “Save Our VA” Community Solidarity Picket was organized by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a national union that represents over 820,000 workers in federal agencies across 900 local unions. The Iowa City protest is one of the many happening across the country.
“We’re trying to communicate to people how serious the staffing issues are with the VA, not only here in Iowa City, but nationwide,” said Patrick Kearns, VA nurse and president of AFGE 2547. “We’ve been on a hiring freeze now since January 21, while the VA and its press releases deny that there’s a hiring freeze.”
The nationwide movement comes after Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins notified AFGE that he was “implementing” Executive Order 14251 by terminating the master collective bargaining agreement between the VA and AFGE National VA Council.
AFGE was notified that, except for police officers, firefighters and security guards, the “VA no longer recognizes AFGE as the exclusive representative of any other VA bargaining unit employee,” according to a National AFGE news release. The AFGE is not on strike.
AFGE 2547 is demanding that the VA be “accountable to the people and carry out its mission with dedication,” for Collins to end the hiring freeze and reverse the “unlawful orders” regarding union rights, and for U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson and U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley to sign HR 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act, to restore federal workers’ bargaining rights.
Kearns said that no one in the congressional delegation is stepping up to co-sponsor HR 2550, and that the hiring freeze is negatively affecting VA health care workers’ ability to do their jobs. At the VA in Iowa City, the medical campus has lost roughly 200 employees since January.
“I think the reason that the Trump administration has targeted us is because we’ve been so effective in communicating with veterans, members of the community, and communicating with members of Congress,” Kearns said. “We believe that their intention with what they’re doing is to try to privatize all of VA care and shut the VA system down. I think that would be disastrous for our patients. I think it’s disastrous for our country.”
Community leaders and veterans stand in solidarity for VA workers
Community leaders stood in solidarity on the picket line, including Veterans for Peace members, Iowa City Council members, Johnson County supervisors, AFGE of District 8 Vice President Ruark Hotopp, City Council candidate Clara Reynen, and Democrat Taylor Wettach, who is running for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District.
Notably on the picket line were veterans who receive care from the VA. Joe Stutter, a Gulf War disabled combat veteran, stood with an American flag in solidarity for all veterans, VA workers and union members.
“(Republicans) have run on platforms of claiming to support us. They love us for photo ops, but otherwise we’re suckers and losers. It’s cheaper to honor our memory than it is actually to care for us,” Stutter said. “Sincerely, they do not care about us; they care about using us. I don’t want to be used by people who don’t give a s—t about me and my sisters and brothers in arms and the people who care for us.”
For Kearns, the solidarity picket is about the veterans and maintaining the quality of care for the 9.1 million veterans enrolled in the VA health care program.
“I’ve spent my career at the VA because I believe in the mission, and I think that overwhelmingly, the staff here believe in the mission that it’s not just health care. It’s more important than that,” Kearns said. “We’ve got a responsibility to our patients that extends beyond what other parts of health care have with their patients.”
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs responds to protest
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs fired back at the local protestors Thursday, Aug. 28. Press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said the Donald Trump administration and the VA have “fixed longstanding problems” with “getting results.”
Kasperowicz noted that the VA has opened 16 new healthcare clinics in 2025, revealing that wait time for benefits has decreased by 37 percent. He also said the VA has offered veterans “nearly 1 million appointments outside of normal operating hours,” which includes early mornings, evenings and weekends.
“Imagine how much better off veterans would be if VA’s critics cared as much about fixing the department as they do about protecting its broken bureaucracy,” Kasperowicz said in a statement to the Press-Citizen.
Kasperowicz said the VA is “processing record numbers of disability claims,” noting that the organization has reached an “all-time high” of 2.52 million ratings.
The press secretary said terminating contracts with VA unions is a “huge win for veterans.”
“Because of this decision, VA staff will spend more time with veterans, VA facilities can focus on treating veterans instead of catering to union bosses,” Kasperowicz said. “VA can manage its staff according to veterans’ needs, not union demands.”
The VA said nearly 1,900 union representatives, who Kasperowicz said were “collecting government salaries to do union work,” have returned to full-time Veterans Affairs work “on behalf of veterans.”
(This article has been updated to include new information and photos.)
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: ‘Save Our VA’ rally in Iowa City demands end to hiring freeze, defends union rights
Reporting by Jessica Rish, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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