The American Federation of Government Employees has begun a campaign to pressure Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to replace the man in charge of negotiating a new contract with the union over claims of intransigence and adherence to defunct Trump-era personnel policies.
AFGE’s national VA council has been in negotiations with the department since March on a new collective bargaining agreement, in what would mark the first major update since 2011. The parties had worked on a new contract during the Trump administration, culminating in a pro-management contract imposed by the Federal Service Impasses Panel, but the union failed to ratify it, effectively blocking its implementation until President Biden took office.
