Veterans, unions, top Michigan Dems gather to protest Trump VA order in Ann Arbor

• On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order dissolving union contracts of federal employees.
• Members of the AFGE, the largest federal employees' union, say this move is the first step in privatizing Veterans Affairs, making it easier to cut more federal jobs.
• Union leaders, veterans, teachers and Michigan elected officials rallied outside of the VA, voicing their concerns over the executive order.

This story has been updated to include a response from the Veterans Administration.

A large crowd of veterans, union members, healthcare workers and several high-ranking Michigan Democrats gathered across the street from the Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor on Saturday. The demonstration was held to protest DOGE-related job cuts at VA offices and a recent move from President Donald Trump to invalidate bargaining agreements with the union that represents VA employees.

Some of the most powerful Democrats in the state of Michigan joined the rally. Lt. Gov. and gubernatorial hopeful Garlin Gilchrist; U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit; U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor; and former Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate stood in solidarity with the protesters.

On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order that terminated collective bargaining agreements between dozens of government agencies and their unions. Later that day, the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs filed suit in Waco, Texas, alleging that the executive order should allow them to cancel their contracts with the American Federation of Government Employees.

The AFGE is the largest federal employees' union, consisting of more than 800,000 members. Nearly 30% of federal employees belong to a labor union, making them more difficult to fire in the sweeping job cuts that have defined the first two months of the Trump administration.

Unions promise to fight together

The protest, which lasted for a few hours despite a consistent sprinkle of rain, drew a wide array of people concerned with the Trump administration and labor issues.

Unions like the AFGE; the United Auto Workers; the American Federation of Teachers; and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had members in attendance.

Larry Barton, the legislative political council chairperson of AFGE Local 2092, said his union chose to protest because they fear the Trump administration is attempting to privatize the VA.

"The VA serves millions of veterans a year with 172 medical centers across the country," Barton said. "The private sector does not have the experience, expertise or resources to serve our vets."

Barton said that VAs like the Kettles Center in Ann Arbor contribute to cutting edge research in fields like PTSD treatment, reconstructive surgeries and prosthetics.

"Across the street, we have some of the great doctors of the world with U of M," Barton said. "We can't lose that."

Ron Bieber, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, told the crowd that his union will join the fight to help AFGE preserve their contract.

Bieber said he had been texting Jason Anderson, the national vice president of AFGE District 7, which covers Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.

"I sent (Anderson) a text and that text said, 'Whatever you need, whatever it takes,'" Bieber said. "That's where I'm at."

The labor protest in Ann Arbor comes amid an uptick in protest demonstrations across the state — many of them led by federal employees affected by mass job cuts.

Officials at the VA said their goal is not to gut and privatize the VA, but to "find ways to improve care and benefits for Veterans without cutting care and benefits for Veterans."

After the publication of this story, Pete Kasperowicz, press secretary at the VA, told the Free Press the office is not seeking to limit hospital staff or claims offices. Rather, it hopes to shrink the bureaucratic sectors of the VA.

"We’re not talking about reducing medical staff or claims processors," Kasperowicz said. "We’re talking about reducing bureaucracy and inefficiencies that are getting in the way of customer convenience and service to veterans."

Kasperowicz said many VA jobs are "exempt from cuts," adding that "hiring continues for more than 300,000 essential positions," referencing an exemption the VA acquired over Trump's federal hiring freeze declared in January.

On March 20, unionized postal workers in Detroit also protested over fears of the privatization of the United States Postal Service.

Top Dems in Michigan join rally

Gilchrist, who is mounting a campaign to become the next governor of Michigan, launched into a fiery speech before the crowd on Saturday.

Before his speech, Glichrist told the Free Press that threats from the Trump administration have to be taken seriously.

"This commitment to cut 80,000 people out of the Veterans Administration means veterans' health care can be cut, veterans' access to services and benefits are going to be cut," Gilchrist said. "The fundamental promise of being a servicewoman or a serviceman, that's being broken."

Dingell, who represents Ann Arbor in the U.S. House, also spoke to the crowd and said she was concerned that stripping the VA would put veterans' wellbeing and access to timely care at risk.

Tlaib was also expected to speak at the protests, but organizers announced she wouldn't make it in time. In her place, Yousef Rabhi, a former Michigan state representative who now serves as a Washtenaw County commissioner, spoke.

Shortly after Rabhi's speech, Tlaib arrived and received a roar from the crowd. Over four minutes, Tlaib railed against the effects that Trump's executive order would have on VA medical facilities.

"In an instant, they would make our veterans wait another three months for that appointment. In an instant, they would allow people to take their lives when mental health services is at its bare minimum," Tlaib said. "And now they want to eliminate it altogether."

Tlaib asked the crowd to share their stories and tell their elected officials about their concerns.

"Tell those stories, that's so important," Tlaib said. "Tell them the pain that would be inflicted on your family if they continue to do this."

This story has been updated with comment from Pete Kasperowicz, press secretary at the VA.

Contact Liam Rappleye: LRappleye@freepress.com