Hundreds protest Trump’s attacks on VA healthcare in Milwaukee

Milwaukee, WI – A March 7 protest outside the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Milwaukee brought out over 300 VA employees and supporters to protest attacks on the VA workforce by billionaires Trump and Musk. It was the largest protest at the site in memory.

Ten probationary employees at the Milwaukee VA have been fired without cause since Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” began its scorched earth campaign against unionized federal workers. Government memos suggest that over 80,000 VA employees could lose their jobs if Trump and Musk’s plans are not stopped.

“We are not the billionaires. We’re the people who’ve had to earn a paycheck our whole life,” said Pam Fendt, president of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, “we know that the end goal of the administration is to cut and then privatize for their own self-enrichment. And we know that privatization doesn’t lead to lower costs or better service.”

“None of us are disposable, the VA’s mission could not be achieved without each and every one of us,” said Monica Luecking-David, a nurse at the Milwaukee VA and chapter president of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5000. “We will lose our VA to the private sector, and your veterans’ healthcare will be administered by insurance companies,” warned Luecking-David, who helped organize the rally.

The bi-partisan MISSION Act signed into law by Trump in 2018 paved the way for the privatization of VA healthcare. The law created a framework to outsource veteran’s healthcare to private companies under certain conditions, such as for long wait times for appointments. If not stopped, the huge staffing cuts sought by Trump and Musk would result in reduction in services and long wait times, forcing veterans to seek healthcare from private providers. The largest healthcare companies in the U.S lobbied vigorously in support of the MISSION Act because they stand to profit from lucrative government contracts to replace VA services.

Tens of thousands of government workers are already out of a job, and many more will be harmed if Trump’s schemes aren’t stopped. It is vital that all organized labor rally in the support of the federal workers’ unions.

“We all need to come together to fight this reduction in force, the same way we do with every other fight, with tireless dedication to a righteous cause,” nurse Monica Luecking-David said.

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