On Aug 7, at 7:01 PM PST, I received the first official notice that the Department of Veterans Affairs has unilaterally terminated our collective bargaining agreement. The attached “Order to Return to Duty” (issued by VISN 22 leadership) is now the formal directive stripping union representatives of our rights, removing access to union offices, and ending the use of official time.
This action follows Executive Order 14251 and the VA Secretary’s decision to revoke CBAs with AFGE, NAGE, SEIU, NNU, and NFFE—with no regard for the government’s own prior assurances. The administration had testified and pledged that no union rights would be removed until litigation was complete. That promise has now been broken.
Additionally, Secretary Collins’ decision is inconsistent with guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which instructs agencies “not to terminate any CBAs until the conclusion of litigation.” It also runs contrary to recent representations made by the administration in federal court, where they assured the judiciary that union contracts were not being terminated. https://www.afge.org/globalassets/documents/2025-docs/faqs-for-eo14251-exclusions-from-federal-labor-manage.pdf
You can read more about this alarming development in the GovExec article:
🔗 VA Terminates Most of Its Union Contracts
We want to be absolutely clear:
AFGE is still here. We are still your union. We are still fighting.
The decision to dismantle our rights does not eliminate our voice. We are actively pursuing every legal and organizational channel available to challenge this action. But we need your help. If you’re already a member, stay engaged. If you haven’t joined, now is the time.
Our strength is in our solidarity.
Please stay in the fight. Stay in the union.
In unity and resistance,
Gary Lockem
Union Steward, AFGE Local 1061