Veterans, nurses, and union activists called on Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) to back the rights of federal workers and help restore collective bargaining agreements with the Department of Veterans Affairs in a protest Friday.
Immediately after the conclusion of the North Carolina AFL-CIO convention, labor leaders led a march to Budd’s office in Wilmington, where they rallied for an hour before dispersing. The protest drew veterans from across the armed forces, with representation from the U.S. Army, the Air Force, Marine Corps, and the Navy, who condemned cuts to the VA as well as President Donald Trump’s decision to end collective bargaining agreements with the department.
“The VA must be fully funded for the veterans who earned it, not gutted to billionaires that put profits over patients,” said Wray Faulkner, a nurse with the Durham VA. “This attack on our union rights is only the beginning. Every worker in this country is at risk. And when they starve the VA of funding, they weaken the public services we all rely on.”
Members of National Nurses United, who spearheaded the protest, attempted to deliver a pledge to Budd calling on him to support collective bargaining rights for the VA, demand an end to reductions in force, and stop money flowing out of the VA to private hospitals.
Labor activists also called on Budd to back two bills, the Protect America’s Workforce Act and the VA Employee Fairness Act, intended to protect federal workers and restore their collective bargaining rights.
Demonstrators said that the office was closed and Budd was not present, so they left their list of demands at his door.
“I did my job, I served this country, I went down range, I did what they asked, but men like him are taking those rights away from me,” said Tony McKinnon, an Army airborne veteran and North Carolina president of the United Postal Workers Union. “What he’s doing is an abomination.”
Budd’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement earlier this month, VA spokesperson Pete Kasperowicz wrote that the termination of the collective bargaining agreements did not cause any job losses, and argued that the department’s services have only improved under the Trump administration.
“Terminating contracts for VA unions — which have repeatedly opposed significant, bipartisan VA reforms and rewarded bad employees for misconduct — is a huge win for Veterans,” Kasperowicz wrote. “Because of this decision, VA staff will spend more time with Veterans, VA facilities can focus on treating Veterans instead of catering to union bosses, and VA can manage its staff according to Veterans’ needs, not union demands.”
Salette Andrews, a member of the Charlotte City Council and an Air Force veteran, said ending collective bargaining means silencing voices speaking out against changes at the VA that compromise patient care and condemned the department for reducing its staff by 30,000 under Trump. “Veterans need more nurses, more doctors, more staff, not less,” Andrews said.
“VA nurses and federal workers have been on the front lines for years, caring for our veterans, speaking out for patient safety, and fighting back against attempts to dismantle one of our nation’s most vital public institutions,” she added. “This is the care our veterans earned, and it must never be sold off to the highest bidder.”
Also among the protesters was Braxton Winston II, the newly elected president of the NC AFL-CIO. Resisting cuts to the federal workforce was a major theme of the second day of the NC AFL-CIO’s convention in Wilmington.
Winston criticized Budd for signing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which his colleague, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) broke with the Trump administration to vote against — but said he still had the opportunity to oppose privatizing the VA and help restore collective bargaining rights for government employees.
“We know that he signed the wrong legislation in this past July, when he cut billions of dollars from Medicaid,” Winston said, eliciting cries of “shame” from the crowd. “But look, we are an inclusive movement. We believe in redemption. Senator Budd has the chance to do the right thing, and he can start doing that today.”
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