{"id":39335,"date":"2019-01-14T19:47:11","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T19:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/14\/va-secretary-slams-union-comments-on-government-shutdown-as-politicizing-veterans-suicide\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:30:20","slug":"va-secretary-slams-union-comments-on-government-shutdown-as-politicizing-veterans-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2019\/01\/14\/va-secretary-slams-union-comments-on-government-shutdown-as-politicizing-veterans-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"VA secretary slams union comments on government shutdown as politicizing veterans\u2019 suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/09\/26\/wilkie-touts-a-calmer-reformed-va-in-his-first-congressional-test\/\" target=\"_blank\">Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie<\/a> on Monday accused union officials of politicizing veterans mental health care by saying the <a href=\"https:\/\/rebootcamp.militarytimes.com\/news\/employment\/2019\/01\/09\/vets-working-without-pay-government-shutdown-leaves-hundreds-of-thousands-in-the-lurch\/\" target=\"_blank\">ongoing government shutdown<\/a> could cost some veterans their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a letter to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/07\/17\/va-union-leaders-spar-over-impact-of-new-accountability-law\/\" target=_blank>American Federation of Government Employees<\/a> leadership, Wilkie demanded an apology for the \u201creckless comments\u201d and asked for officials to \u201coutline the steps you plan to take to ensure AFGE leaders demonstrate proper respect for our nation\u2019s heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move is the latest chapter in ongoing friction between federal workers\u2019 unions and President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, and the VA leadership specifically. In a response statement, AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. called the Trump administration \u201cone of the worst on record for our country\u2019s heroes\u201d and pushed back on Wilkie\u2019s accusations.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2019\/01\/09\/vets-working-without-pay-government-shutdown-leaves-hundreds-of-thousands-in-the-lurch\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18357771175038-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Vets working without pay: Government shutdown leaves hundreds of thousands in the lurch<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Build a wall or don\u2019t \u2014 Shanley-Dillman doesn\u2019t care. He just wants to see elected officials come to some sort of compromise so that he and his other veteran colleagues can get back to work.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFederal government employed veterans are hurting right now,\u201d he said. \u201cRegardless of their continued service to our country the President and his cabinet have left them out in the cold, forcing them to work without pay or subjecting veterans and their families to the uncertainty of not knowing when or where their next paycheck will come from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the heart of the dispute is the decision of congressional Democrats and other Trump critics to invoke the impact of the ongoing government shutdown on veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Department of Veterans Affairs is fully funded for the year, meaning VA employees and veterans support programs are not affected by the ongoing partial shutdown. But about 800,000 employees from other departments \u2014 including more than 125,000 veterans \u2014 have been furloughed or forced to work without pay because of the ongoing budget dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a news interview last week, AFGE Local President Edward Canales said that if the shutdown doesn\u2019t stop soon, \u201cwe are going to have fatalities, we\u2019re going to have suicides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilkie took exception to the remarks, saying they played into stereotypes that veterans are \u201cso fragile from their service that the slightest hint of hardship can push them to the brink of mental breakdown or even self-harm.\u201d He said the \u201cdisgraceful\u201d comment requires public correction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs leader of the largest union representing VA employees, many of whom are veterans, you should know how harmful this stereotype is to veterans, especially those attempting to enter the civilian workforce following their service,\u201d Wilkie wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was surprised and disappointed to see (Canales) pushing the &#8220;Veteran as victim&#8221; myth and going so far as to exploit the real tragedy of veteran suicide to make political arguments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA officials delivered the letter to AFGE officials on Monday morning and posted the full text online on their news release site early Monday afternoon. Union officials dismissed the message as itself a political act.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2019\/01\/11\/vet-unemployment-hit-an-all-time-low-in-2018-mission-accomplished\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-8-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Vet unemployment hit an all-time low in 2018. Mission accomplished?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Eight years ago, in the wake of the Great Recession, unemployment rates for the latest generation of veterans had spiked to crisis levels. Leaders across federal and state governments, some of America\u2019s most well-known companies and veterans service organizations sprang into action.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFinancial pressures experienced by working people are apparently not something this administration either understands or cares about,\u201d Cox said. \u201cAFGE will continue to work to alleviate those kinds of pressure on veterans and all other working and middle class Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA and union leaders have sparred in recent months over a host of issues, including administration plans to expand outside health care options for veterans. VA officials have said the effort will dramatically expand health care options for veterans. Union leaders insist the move will drain much-needed resources from VA in an attempt to privatize the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilkie\u2019s staff has also moved to limit how much union business certain VA employees can perform during official work hours, a plan decried by union leaders as an attempt to erode workers&#8217; rights instead of improving workplace efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The government shutdown, the result of a budget fight between Trump and congressional Democrats over his demand for more than $5 billion in funding for his controversial border wall, has lasted for 23 days, the longest in U.S. history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">American Federation of Government Employees&#39; Jacqueline Simon discusses the impact of the government shutdown on federal workers<br><br>Join the conversation here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hTpmNa08Iv\">https:\/\/t.co\/hTpmNa08Iv<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/u7lDx9QQkZ\">pic.twitter.com\/u7lDx9QQkZ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Washington Journal (@cspanwj) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cspanwj\/status\/1084825266143350785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robert Wilkie has asked the union to apologize for a comment saying the ongoing government shutdown could cost veterans&#8217; lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-39335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FRLSRBGWAVEOTJV54OUQUPIR3A","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/01\/14\/va-secretary-slams-union-comments-on-government-shutdown-as-politicizing-veterans-suicide\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VA secretary slams union comments on government shutdown as politicizing veterans\u2019 suicide - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Robert Wilkie has asked the union to apologize for a comment saying the ongoing government shutdown could cost veterans&#039; lives.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VA secretary slams union comments on government shutdown as politicizing veterans\u2019 suicide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Robert Wilkie has asked the union to apologize for a comment saying the ongoing government shutdown could cost 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