Democrats side with union boss over veterans in VA

Posted: Apr 13, 2017

Firing Offense: Democrats are constantly bleating about the need to better serve the nation's veterans. Yet when it comes down to it, they would rather bow to their union masters than allow the VA to fire workers who aren't doing their jobs. The proof is the Democrats' fervent opposition to a simple reform being pushed by Republicans — the VA Accountability First Act. This bill would let the Veterans Affairs secretary fire someone and not have to wait a month for the person to actually be fired. It would also let the VA cut the pensions for those convicted of a felony, and reclaim bonuses from those fired. The bill got some needed momentum after a VA worker was caught watching porn while with a patient. VA Secretary David Shulkin wanted him fired immediately, only to learn that the worker is entitled to spend a month — at taxpayer expense — on desk duty before being shown the door. "I need the authority as secretary to remove these people immediately," Shulkin said. Even so, the bill is just a tiny step toward improving this dangerously dysfunctional agency, which three years ago was embroiled in a scandal over excessively long wait times for veterans seeking health care and efforts by executives to cook the books to hide them. The VA has been impervious to reform largely because its workers know that it is almost impossible to fire anyone. But when the accountability measure reached the House floor, just 10 Democrats voted for it. And now, Democrats are threatening to block a similar bill in the Senate. Why? The reason is simple. More than three quarters of the VA workforce is unionized, and public employee unions don't want this bill to pass. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents nearly a quarter million VA workers, called it "a union-busting bill, plain and simple." Well, guess what: In the last election cycle, the AFGE contributed $6.9 million to political campaigns and PACs, with all but a tiny fraction of it going to Democrats, according to Open Secrets. Kowtowing to unions also explains why, despite promises by President Obama in the wake of the VA's wait-time scandal that he was "moving ahead with urgent reforms, including … instituting a critical culture of accountability," nothing got done. At best, one person involved in that scandal was fired, and that was for a separate offense. Two others were "punished" with "paid administrative leave," and both landed new jobs at the VA. This accountability problem isn't limited to the VA. Unionized federal workers across the board rarely get fired. Managers don't even dare give a worker a bad review — 99.5% of federal workers get top performance ratings — out of fear that it will cause untold pain and anguish justifying it to the Merit Systems Protection Board. As a result, even those who commit egregious offenses are often put on paid administrative leave. A Government Accountability Office report found that agencies spent $3.1 billion from 2011 through 2013 on paid leave. At other agencies, incompetent or lazy workers mostly just mean paperwork doesn't get shuffled fast enough. But at the VA, which is charged with providing health care for veterans, this lack of accountability can literally mean the difference between life and death. The fact that Democrats would put union interests ahead of veterans' health is intolerable, and shows just how much their constant claims of compassion really mean. ;