A federal judge on March 13 ordered the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to honor its collective bargaining agreement with a union while litigation over the agreement played out.
U.S. District Judge Melissa R. DuBose of Rhode Island issued an injunction temporarily requiring the department to honor its three-year master collective bargaining agreement with the National Veterans Affairs Council (NVAC), which is a unit of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). The council represents about 300,000 department employees.
In 2023, NVAC and the department signed the three-year agreement, but on Aug. 6, 2025, Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins terminated it.
The department said at the time that it was ending collective bargaining agreements with most VA bargaining-unit employees to “make it easier for VA leaders to promote high-performing employees, hold poor performers accountable, and improve benefits and services to America’s Veterans.”…
Judge Orders Veterans Affairs to Reinstate Collective Bargaining Agreement
