Tampa VA workers unite against Trump attacks
Tampa, FL – About 20 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) workers and supporters rallied at the VA clinic on Bruce B Downs Boulevard in Tampa early in the morning of August 4. The rally was put on by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 547 and is part of a larger nationwide campaign opposing ongoing attacks on federal workers by the Trump administration.
In February, after Trump was inaugurated, the VA announced it would be cutting 80,000 jobs, or 20% of the total VA workforce, as part of the DOGE-led cuts on services. This started with the firing of all 2400 probationary employees.
In March, Trump delivered an executive order stripping collective bargaining rights from many federal workers, including workers at the VA, in what has been called the greatest attack on the labor movement in decades.
While these have been reversed by the court system for now, they are part of an ongoing attack on federal workers, and workers are continuing the fight.
Workers were highly motivated at the picket, chanting “When the VA is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and soliciting support from passing vehicles. Their spirits were buoyed by record numbers of workers joining the AFGE in light of the attacks from the Trump administration.