American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National Veterans Affairs (VA) Council Third Executive Vice President Bill Wetmore joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the Council’s petition to replace VA Chief Negotiator Kurt Martin in the negotiations for its Master Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The AFGE National VA Council represents more than 283,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Wetmore called the petition to U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis R. McDonough
an unprecedented move, as the AFGE National VA Council expressly objects to Martin’s inclusion of Executive Orders by former President Donald Trump that eliminated collective bargaining rights in the contract. The Council also objects to Martin’s exclusion of certain Executive Orders signed by President Joe Biden to empower workers, expand collective bargaining rights and make the VA a “model employer,” he added. Wetmore described Martin’s efforts as “union busting.”
He then talked about the goals the Council seeks in the next contract, including better pay, an expansion of collective bargaining rights and improvements to the employees’ award system.
He also discussed recently passed legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives that bars future presidents from unilaterally stripping federal workers of their Civil Service protections.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.