The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to end the culture of fear that has plagued the agency and negatively impacted veterans’ care. As recent headlines suggest, some management officials have been ‘gaming the system’ to artificially inflate performance statistics in their medical centers. What is not so recent is the widespread cover-up culture that pervades the VA. Front-line employees have lived in fear of blowing the whistle due to an established history of retaliation. They do not feel safe to report mismanagement.
“These headlines aren’t revealing anything that the VA didn’t already know,” said AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. “Our members have paid a heavy price for voicing concerns, submitting letters, raising issues in labor management meetings, and testifying before Congress on wait time issues and veterans’ access to care. When they have sounded the alarm our members faced retaliation and intimidation. No one should have to choose between keeping their job and speaking out about threats to patient care. It is time for the VA to take swift action to end this culture of fear and cover-ups.”
Kathi Dahl is the AFGE Local President at the Pittsburgh VA where a recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease caused the death of five veterans and infection of dozens more. The facility had very high readings for well over a year before they were disclosed to Ms. Dahl and the staff. In February 2013 she was summoned by the House VA Oversight Committee as a witness, but was informed by a VA manager that she could “call in sick” instead of testifying. Despite management intimidation she testified on the record to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs regarding the outbreak and subsequent cover-up.
In 2011, Dr. Michelle Washington, a union activist with AFGE VA Local 342, testified before the Senate on issues of inadequate staffing, patient access to specialized care and prolonged wait times for appointments. Her testimony also addressed concerns of mismanagement in terms of appointment data manipulation. Following her testimony, Dr. Washington faced retaliatory actions at her facility where some of her duties as a psychologist were removed and her performance evaluation was negatively impacted. Dr. Maryann Hooker, also an AFGE activist, became the subject of an unwarranted investigation for testifying on proposed budget cuts and “deskilling” of the workforce in 2011. She was ultimately cleared after intervention of the VA’s Office of Inspector General. Similarly, Veterans Benefits Administration employees testifying on numbers-gaming at the VBA suffered retaliation for speaking up.
“We hope the agency will take a serious look at how facility directors and managers are carrying out the mission of the VA,” added AFGE National VA Council President Alma Lee. “As the agency carries out its probe, we caution it not to target front line workers carrying out their duties as assigned, but the managers trying to change the rules and cheat veterans out of the care they deserve. VA should not be investigating itself under these circumstances.”
“The employees caring for our nation’s heroes work hard each day to carry out the mission of the agency, to provide our vets with world-class care,” said Cox. “They shouldn’t feel afraid to speak up against managers who are more concerned with securing bonuses than providing their patients with timely access to care for critical medical conditions. It’s time for the VA to rebalance its resources, cut the excess layers of middle management, and shift the savings toward the front lines of patient care where it belongs. The only way to heal what is wrong with the VA is to invest in what is right with the VA: its doctors, nurses, clinicians, and other dedicated health care personnel.”
 is calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to end the culture of fear that has plagued the agency and negatively impacted veterans' care.){kind=link}
“Why in 2009 were we still using paper?” VA Assistant Secretary Tommy Sowers “When we came in, there was no plan to change that; we’ve been operating on a six month wait for over a decade.” 27 March 2013
WHY? GOOD QUESTION THOSE SERVED SHOULD ANSWER, added to the past decades and wars of the ignoring of many issues along with the denying they exist! Think PTS, Agent Orange and Desert Storms Gulf War Syndrom, to name but only a very few!!
The real scandal is those Served have yet to Sacrifice, DeJa-Vu all over again:
The same lawmakers now subpoening, and with their flag waving patriots(?) supporting, that rubber stamped the two wars, and all related, costs off the books and on the credit card, quickly abandoning the missions and those sent after 9/11, while doing extremely little for not only the veterans of but also us previous veterans and from the decades and wars before, while once again under a conservative led VA, DeJa-Vu!!
Conservative Veterans Affairs Ideology, Fire Gen. Shinseki
Just what the conservative, in this case the Always reactive and not proactive for vets, the legion, with their grossly over paid executives, ideology wants, Get rid of one that’s doing the job and in this case with help from the entire cabinet, hired to do, just as the conservatives in congress want,
“If military action is worth our troops’ blood, it should be worth our treasure, too” “not just in the abstract, but in the form of a specific ante by every American.” -Andrew Rosenthal 10 Feb. 2013
They were Jubilant when conservatives controlled congress and the bush fired the General for being Honest, now their call is being picked up through one of the so called established Veterans organization the American Legion! All were praising the VA during that time, of total conservative control, even though extremely little was being done as the long ignored veterans issues were still being ignored while two more wars, and long occupations from, were being rubber stamped as to costs, still unpaid for, and these younger veterans were joining our veterans community seeking the commitment the Country promises and the Country waved flags, and other symbols, of that ‘patriotic’ commitment only, DeJa-Vu all over again! Their long want is to privatize government agencies for corporate profit, much more costly, and unregulated running of, just like their national security wars!
TX-19 Congressional Candidate Neal Marchbanks – Veteran: 28 March 2014 – “Congress controls the budget for the VA and it is the fault of Congress that the VA does not have enough employees and that the facilities are too small.”
Congress, in Veteran Marchbanks statement, are the people served and who representatives work for, or are supposed to!
“12 years also is a long time. We now have a lifetime responsibility to a generation of service members, veterans and their families.” Dr. Jonathan Woodson 11 Sep. 2013: ‘With 9/11 Came Lifetime Responsibility’ {two tax cuts, especially huge for the wealthy, with not a bit of guilt conscious for, came with these two recent unpaid for wars, nor the results of, DeJa-Vu all over again from the previous decades and wars from! Ignore the many issues, by those served, no need to fund!}
USN All Shore ’67-’71 GMG3 Vietnam In Country ’70-’71 – Independent