Following ‘DOGE’ Slashing Thousands Of VA Jobs, New Report Reveals Severe Staffing Shortages At VA Medical Centers – Including Across Upstate NY & Syracuse – Which Local Vets Fear Will Worsen After Trump’s Recent Executive Action To End VA Union Agreement Critical To Hiring Nurses & Hiring Workers
Schumer Says We Cannot Play Politics With Our Vets’ Healthcare, Demands We Protect VA Union Workers And Leads Fight To Increase Funding For Veterans’ Healthcare With Surge Of $2 Billion More Than Last Year – To Protect Against ‘DOGE’ Cuts And Stop Trump’s Attack On Workforce
Schumer: Hands Off Central NY Vets’ Healthcare!
After a new shocking report showed VA Medical Centers across the country, including across Upstate NY & Syracuse, facing severe staffing shortages, and after nationwide ‘DOGE’ cuts and Trump actions just last week stripping protections for VA union workers, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer stood with Central NY and Mohawk Valley veterans and unions to sound the alarm on this triple threat and demand, “Hands off our veterans’ healthcare.”
Across Upstate NY, VA workers, many of whom are veterans themselves, have already been fired or pushed out – negatively impacting services to our vets.
Schumer explained that, “This reckless new executive action puts politics over our veterans’ care and harms access to and quality of care for the more than 25,000 veterans in Madison and Onondaga counties, and thousands of other veterans living across Upstate NY, while worsening staff shortages are making it harder to hire critically needed positions like nurses.” Schumer also said we need to be investing more, not less, for the care of our veterans, and demanded the Trump administration restore fired veterans and VA workers and stop their continued attacks on the VA workforce. The senator detailed how he will be pushing to reverse ‘DOGE’ cuts in the upcoming appropriations bill.
“Recklessly and relentlessly attacking the VA and its workforce is not how you treat our veterans – it’s not just unacceptable, it’s un-American. This shocking new report shows our VA Medical Centers across America already have severe staffing shortages, while still suffering from thousands of reckless ‘DOGE’ firings, and this latest assault on the VA workforce will hurt our veterans seeking to simply get the healthcare they need. To add insult to vet injury, the Trump administration is stripping away the rights of our VA union workers, many of whom are veterans themselves, undermining one of the very freedoms our veterans fought to protect – Americans’ right to organize. Our Central NY veterans are going to be the ones who suffer if there are no workers to answer the phone, explain their benefits, or provide critical health care,” said Senator Schumer. “We cannot play politics with our veterans’ healthcare. Ripping up contracts for VA workers, attacking the workers who deliver healthcare to our vets, makes it even harder to hire and retain the well-trained nurses, claims specialists, mental health counselors, and other critical services that our veterans desperately need. Our nation told our veterans that if they put their lives and health on the line to protect our freedoms, we would take care of them, and the Trump administration is breaking that promise by cutting the VA to the bone. We are here today united to demand the Trump administration stop its attacks on VA workers, because our veterans are the ones suffering the costs. I will be fighting to increase investment for VA healthcare and reverse the ‘DOGE’ cuts because we must uphold our nation’s commitment to care for our veterans who fought for our freedom.”
“As a veteran and patient at the Syracuse VA, I am very concerned about the closure of specialty clinics. We no longer have a neurosurgery department or an interventional radiology department. Most veterans that I know, myself included, prefer to receive care at the VA – the VA is its own special community. We enjoy the camaraderie with each other, we support each other. VA workers are specifically trained to meet the unique needs of veterans. They know how to work with patients with PTSD and are trained to detect emerging health issues. The loss of bargaining rights and union representation is a disservice to the employees and the patients. Denying bargaining rights to employees is denying them a voice in decisions that directly affect them and their patients,” said Elaine Gerace, Air Force Veteran and retired VA RN, SEIU Local 200United.
Schumer alongside Central NY veterans is demanding Trump stop these attacks, and he said he is leading the fight in the Senate to reverse the ‘DOGE’ cuts, increase investment and accountability at the VA. Last month, the Senate was able to advance a bipartisan FY26 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs budget bill that increases funding for VA medical care by $2.2 billion over FY25 levels. The Senate version of the bill also includes $52.7 billion for the Toxic Exposures Fund, created by the PACT Act, that provides funds for veterans suffering from toxic exposure, a $22 billion increase from what this fund received in FY25. Additionally, to protect against Trump and ‘DOGE’ targeting the VA workforce, this bill includes language that requires VA to maintain staffing levels that enable the agency to achieve congressional-mandated goals pivotal to caring for veterans. Schumer warned any plans to create more chaos in the VA workforce will weaken the healthcare offered for thousands of veterans in Central New York and millions more across the country and said he is leading the fight in the Senate to fight back against these cuts, increase VA staff, protect workers, and support our veterans.
Schumer explained the Trump administration and ‘DOGE’ are in the midst of reducing the VA workforce by 30,000 workers across the country, many of whom have service-connected disabilities. These cuts also come at potentially the worst time, as Republicans just passed the largest healthcare cuts in the ‘Big, Ugly Betrayal.’ These cuts will undoubtedly result in closures of rural hospitals and clinics, forcing veterans in rural America to depend even more on an understaffed and overwhelmed VA workforce. Additionally, more veterans had just started receiving healthcare than ever before, thanks to Schumer leading the PACT Act to passage through Congress in 2022, which, after years of denying vets treatment, extended health coverage for exposure to burn pit smoke and other environmental hazards that caused cancers and other illnesses during their service.
This created chaos with the VA firing then rehiring workers, including at the Veterans Crisis Line which provides mental health care. Schumer rallied against these cuts at VA centers across New York, including at the Canandaigua VA. Schumer said the administration has already fired thousands of veterans across the country, many of whom have service-connected disabilities. For example, Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) workers – including 9 at the Canandaigua VA – were fired, only to be reinstated days later after public outcry across the country. In addition, Spectrum News reported layoffs at the Bath VA’s Detox and Substance Use Rehab Center, risking its shutdown due to staffing shortages. Additionally, VA union officials report that VA Homeless Hotline workers hired through Canandaigua VA as remote workers are under a pending return-to-work order which led the call center to lose workers which will reduce the line’s effectiveness. The VA has refused to even explain where all these cuts have been in New York, leading to chaos. Schumer said broader federal workforce cuts are especially cruel as veterans make up 30% of the federal workforce.
To add to the already looming crisis, last week, a shocking new report revealed that every single VA medical center across the country is short-staffed, with many lacking the doctors and nurses they need to keep VA facilities running smoothly. Reports of severe shortages for specific jobs increased by 50% from last year, and all 139 VA medical centers reported lacking workers with department-wide vacancy rates for doctors and nurses at 14% and 10%. Amid this chaos, nearly 45% fewer job applications were submitted this year compared to last year. The survey does not include many workers who took the most recent round of buyouts.
In addition, earlier this month, the VA abruptly terminated union contracts and removed labor protections for VA union workers across the country. For example, most union workers at the VA have lost the right to have work disputes resolved by a neutral arbitrator and to have union leaders work on vases on official time. This action was justified by a March executive order by President Trump that ended collective bargaining rights for over one million federal employees. The VA, which has historically struggled with recruitment and retention of healthcare workers, will be further challenged to attract a robust healthcare workforce to provide quality care to our nation’s veterans.
“As a service-connected disabled veteran, I find the recent actions of the Veterans Administration towards veterans to be deeply concerning. The individuals who have bravely served our nation and defended the freedoms we cherish are, in my view, being underserved by the agency tasked with their support. I commend Senator Schumer for his ongoing efforts to protect veterans’ programs and services from potential reductions,” said New York State Assemblywoman Pamala Hunter.
“The working people of Central New York stand firmly against any effort to strip collective bargaining rights from VA employees. These are the men and women who dedicate their lives to caring for our veterans, and they deserve the same voice and protections on the job as every other American worker. President Trump’s actions not only silence workers but also open the door to cutting staff, which directly impacts the quality and timeliness of care our veterans receive. Undermining workplace rights weakens the VA system and hurts the very people it is meant to serve. We thank Senator Schumer for standing with us in defense of these rights, and we will continue to fight to ensure that the voices of VA employees—and all working people—are respected,” said Joe LaPaglia, President, CNY Labor Council.
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