To the members of AFGE Local 17,
Tonight’s town hall is about facing the future together. As we navigate the challenges posed by new executive orders and shifting political winds, it’s crucial to remember where our strength comes from: our solidarity and our track record. This isn’t the first time our rights have been challenged, and it won’t be the last.
Our union has a long history of fighting for you—and winning. We want to take this moment to highlight the tangible victories your membership has secured and outline our path forward. This is what your union does. This is the value of standing together.
Our Track Record of Tangible Wins
Actions speak louder than words. Your dues have funded a relentless, multi-front defense of your rights and benefits, securing major victories on Capitol Hill, in arbitration, and in the courtroom.
Victories on the Legislative Front
- We Protected Your Retirement: When proposed legislation threatened to gut your hard-earned retirement benefits, AFGE mobilized. We stopped a plan that would have changed the FERS calculation from an employee’s three highest-paid years (“high-three”) to a five-year average. For a member with a $100,000 high-three salary, this change would have slashed their retirement benefits by over $13,000 during a 20-year retirement. We also defeated proposals to eliminate the FERS supplement and increase your mandatory contributions. Your pension is secure because AFGE fought for it. AFGE stopped proposed increases to the FERS contribution rate that would have cost current and future employees thousands of dollars a year. AFGE also successfully fought against proposals to cut health insurance benefits.
- We Stopped the “VA Accountability Act Part 2”: AFGE successfully defeated a dangerous bill insiders called the “Big Retaliation Bill.” This wasn’t about accountability; it was an attack on your rights. It would have made new hires “at-will” employees who could be fired for any reason, stripped due process protections, and even imposed a 10% tax on union dues to cripple our ability to represent you. We stopped it cold.
Victories in the Workplace
- Winning Landmark Arbitrations: We’ve consistently held management to the letter of our Master Agreement. In a major 2024 victory, we challenged the Board’s unlawful changes to attorney performance standards. After a five-day hearing, an arbitrator ruled in our favor, delivering back pay with interest to affected attorneys. In another case, our dedicated steward, Steve Eckerman, fought for a disabled employee who was denied telework as a reasonable accommodation. We took the fight to arbitration and won full reinstatement with back pay, interest, and restored leave for our member.
- Winning MSPB Reinstatements: When management oversteps, we fight back. As our members know from Calanit Kedem’s successful cases, union representation is a career-saver. In one of two recent, powerful examples, we represented a disabled employee who was unjustly removed. We took the case all the way through the MSPB appeals process, arguing that management had violated the employee’s statutory rights under the Rehabilitation Act, ADA, and the ADAAA. The result: the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) reversed the removal ordering reinstatement with back pay and more. This is the expert legal defense your membership provides.
The Current Challenge & Our Litigation Strategy
The past is prologue. Now, we face the implementation of Executive Order 14251, which seeks to erode the rights we have fought so hard to secure. Let us be clear: AFGE is challenging this in court.
This is familiar ground for us. We have a long and successful history of fighting and winning against illegal executive overreach. We must remember the thousands of VA employees, in cases like that of Kalimba Miller, who were reinstated after the first VA Accountability Act was implemented without our union’s full involvement. History has shown that when we challenge these actions, we can win. While the litigation is ongoing and we cannot promise a specific outcome, we can promise a relentless fight using every legal tool at our disposal.
Our Path Forward: Fighting on Every Front
We are not just playing defense. We have a clear, proactive plan to protect our members and advance your interests.
Championing Proactive Legislation
Your union is fighting for legislation that improves your careers. We are championing the bipartisan Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney Retention and Backlog Reduction Act (H.R. 9046), which would allow experienced, non-supervisory attorneys to advance to the GS-15 pay grade. This is about fair pay and retaining the talent needed to serve our nation’s veterans. We are also pushing to restore standards of excellence by requiring that Veterans Law Judges (VLJs) have at least three years of relevant experience before being appointed, ensuring that expertise is valued at every level.
A Shield for Dues-Paying Members
In this new environment, the value of your membership has never been clearer. Moving forward, we are formalizing a critical member-only benefit: any dues-paying member who faces a serious adverse action—a suspension of 15 days or more, or a removal—will have their case automatically screened by our legal team for possible MSPB litigation. This is your insurance policy. It ensures you will not have to face a career-threatening fight alone. You can learn more about your protections on our Know Your Rights page.
Your Voice on Capitol Hill
Think of AFGE as your dedicated lobbying firm in Washington. We are fighting for a bill in Congress to restore the rights that have been stripped away. While its passage is unlikely in the current political climate, it is crucial that we fight on every front. Our real opportunity lies in litigation, but our voice must be heard in the halls of Congress. AFGE has worked with Congress to enact H.R. 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act to overrule the President’s Executive Order stripping more than a million federal employees of their rights on “national security” grounds. H.R. 2550 currently has 222 cosponsors, and AFGE is lobbying for a discharge petition to force a vote on this bill.
And it is being heard. We have cultivated powerful relationships with the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, and we are proud that two of its influential members, Rep. Morgan McGarvey and Rep. Chris Pappas, have attended AFGE Local 17 events to hear directly from you. They know who we are, and they know we are a force for our members.
Our Unity is Our Strength
Our track record is clear. From protecting your retirement from cuts that would have cost you thousands, to reinstating wrongfully terminated colleagues, to ensuring you have a powerful voice on Capitol Hill—your union delivers. In the face of these challenges, our solidarity has only grown. Since the Executive Order was announced, our local has seen a net increase in membership requests. This is a powerful testament to our collective resolve. It sends a clear message that we will not be intimidated and that we understand that now, more than ever, we are stronger together.
We offer you hope, grounded in the hard facts of our past victories and our concrete plan for the future. The challenges are real, but our resolve is stronger. Your continued membership is an investment in a powerful collective voice and a shield of protection. You are not alone. We have been here before, we have won before, and with your solidarity, we will win again.
Together, we are stronger. Together, we will prevail.
