Veterans Blast Collins’ Attack on VA Staff Who Spoke Out Against Cuts and Closures

The Unite for Veterans (U4V) Coalition condemns VA Secretary Doug Collins for terminating union contracts covering more than 400,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees — including the more than 123,000 veterans who work in VA facilities along with thousands of military spouses, caregivers, and surviving family members in the VA workforce. The group says Collins’ action is “retaliation” against VA staff who spoke out against rural facility closures, staffing cuts, and privatization schemes that threaten veterans’ care.

“These contracts were patient safety guardrails,” said Chris Purdy, CEO and Founder, The Chamberlain Network. “They made sure staffing decisions included frontline input, ensured that care was delivered by qualified personnel, and protected whistleblowers from retaliation. Collins ripped them up to punish the people who put veterans first — and that puts every veteran at greater risk.”

Without these protections, U4V warns, VA patients can expect longer wait times, more unqualified staffing assignments, and a silenced workforce unable to raise alarms about unsafe care. The organization says the move benefits private contractors and corporate interests at the expense of veterans and their families and caregivers.

“You cannot claim to put veterans and their loved ones first while dismantling the system that serves them,” Libby Jamison, a military family member and former VA employee, said. “Veterans kept our promise to serve this country. Now Doug Collins and the VA must keep theirs.”

Unite for Veterans is calling on Congress to step in, reverse the contract terminations, and stop what it describes as “the slow dismantling of the VA.” The group is also urging the public to join them in defending VA workers, saying that when the VA’s mission is compromised, it’s not just veterans who lose — it’s the country they served.

For press contact, please email: info@unite4vets.org