NAGE Calls for Expanded Bargaining Rights for VA Workers

National President David Holway submitted testimony to the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health, urging the extension of full collective bargaining rights for Department of Veterans Affairs workers.

This issue arose in 1991, when Congress amended Title 38 to VA medical professionals with collective bargaining rights (which include the rights to use the negotiated grievance procedure and arbitration). Under Sec. 7422 of Title 38, covered employees can negotiate, file grievances and arbitrate disputes over working conditions, except for matters concerning or arising out of professional conduct or competence, peer review, or compensation. Increasingly, VA management is interpreting these exceptions very broadly, and refusing to bargain over virtually every significant workplace issue affecting medical professionals.

“VA medical professionals have extremely limited collective bargaining rights in the first place, and the broad interpretation of Sec. 7422 of Title 38 is narrowing the scope of bargaining to the point that it is practically meaningless,” said Holway in his statement. “As a result, nurses, doctors, and other impacted employees at the VA are experiencing increased job stress, low morale and burnout.”

Passing H.R. 949 and its companion bill in the Senate, S. 362, would help to address many of these concerns by restoring a meaningful scope of bargaining for Title 38 VA professionals. Eliminating these exceptions will extend our veterans’ health care providers the same rights as other VA workers including psychologists, LPNs, and pharmacists, as well as other federal employees.

“Restoring meaningful bargaining rights will greatly increase morale at the VA,” said Holway. “It will also address recruitment and retention issues, which are critical at this time, given the veterans returning home from conflicts abroad. All this will lead to better care for our nation’s veterans.”