Veterans protest VA employee layoffs in West Springfield
Veterans rallied at the Vet Center in West Springfield Saturday morning, protesting the layoffs of VA employees. The veterans in attendance were heard chanting, 'Honor The Contract', urging the federal government to give the Veterans Affairs offices more employees and resources.
Lawmakers say healthcare system is 'falling apart'
Michael Slater was recently fired from the Springfield Vet Center as a result of these layoffs.Slater served four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He described how the community has been feeling amidst these mass firings.
'Those were the first drops in the bucket,' Slater said. 'So now there's really this level of fear that, what is 80,000 more gonna do to this system? How is it going to constrict care and access to care, and the timely referral process to get veterans who need help, into help?'
Another veteran who attended was Senator John Velis, who also served in Afghanistan. He told 22News what consequences could come if the VA can't provide care.
'If we establish a reputation of, 'We are not gonna take care of the men and women who serve their country,' then we've got problems,' Velis said. 'Because what that's going to mean is that folks aren't going to join. My plea here today in being here is I want the federal government to reconsider.'
A ruling from a federal judge on Thursday ordered multiple federal agencies, including the VA, to reinstate probationary employees that were laid off. This comes as 19 states are suing the Trump administration for these firings.
When asked what should be done, Slater said that the federal government needs to assess the consequences of thinning out these agencies.
'We need to really do a deep dive into the services, and however, every decision made by the administration is going to affect those services,' Slater said. 'And ensuring that when veterans make the decision to seek care, that the care is there.'
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
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