ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Members of the largest union of federal employees joined other Western North Carolina labor groups on Oct. 22 in front of the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville to protest how the Trump administration is treating the federal workforce.
The rally was part of a week of actions by the American Federation of Government Employees. Union leaders said the region’s roughly 30,000 dues-paying members include VA hospital staff, airport security screeners, researchers at the downtown federal climate data center, the National Centers for Environmental Information, and park employees along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Christine Surrette, the union’s national vice president for the district that includes North Carolina, said the administration has weakened labor protections, cut staff and pushed early retirements while leaving vacancies empty, leaving remaining workers stretched thin.
At the VA hospital, union representatives said management is ending workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities, most of whom are veterans, and that thin medical staffing has led some veterans to be sent elsewhere for care. A local VA spokesman said questions would go to higher levels of the agency, and the VA did not respond by deadline.
The stakes are local. The VA Asheville Healthcare System ranks among the largest employers in the area and, with Mission Hospital and MAHEC, anchors the region’s medical hub.
Other groups at the rally included National Nurses United, the American Postal Workers Union and the Union of Southern Service Workers. Speakers tied the event to the Nov. 3 election, and union leaders backed Democrat Jamie Ager over Republican Jennifer Balkcom in the 11th Congressional District race. Two people running for Asheville City Council, Drew Ball and Keith Young, were in the crowd as well.
Section: More Asheville NC politics news
Filed under: Asheville NC Politics News
