Exclusive: VA cancels employees' unpaid maternity leave

Axios

12 hours ago

New and expecting parents who work at Veterans Affairs are getting approved maternity and paternity leave canceled after their union contract was terminated by the White House, according to two internal memos viewed by Axios.
Why it matters: It's usually a scramble to stand up childcare options for new babies or figure out alternative arrangements on short notice.
Those affected include people giving birth this week, or who just gave birth and are on maternity leave — and probably not checking email, says Andrew Feldman, a spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees who has been talking to some impacted workers.
Most VA employees are women.
How it works: These workers aren't losing all their leave — 12 weeks of paid family leave is guaranteed under a federal law that President Trump signed during his first administration.
But their union contract provided for another four weeks of unpaid time off on top of that. That's now gone.
The big picture: The change may be a sign of the kind of fallout coming for federal employees as the administration's crackdown on federal unions continues.
Catch up quick: Last week, the VA was the first federal agency to terminate a union contract — impacting roughly 400,000 employees — under the direction of a White House executive order.
Reads one memo: In accordance with the..."termination of the master collective bargaining agreements on August 6, 2025, it has been determined that you are no longer entitled to the additional 4 weeks of 'contractual' leave without pay for maternity/paternity purposes."
Another more detailed document viewed by Axios is unclear as to whether VA employees still even qualify for paid leave or other "labor obligations."
It says: "VA will no longer follow Statute, CBAs [collective bargaining agreements], or any other labor obligations" for those employees who had their contract canceled." It is not clear what statute or labor obligations the document is referencing.
The contract termination is creating a lot of anxiety, one VA employee tells Axios, asking for anonymity because they are fearful for their jobs.
"This is exactly what we mean when we warn about the harms of union-busting; just days after tearing up union contracts, they're already rolling back basic rights for expecting mothers," said AFGE national president Everett Kelley.
The other side: The VA confirmed the change. "Now that VA has terminated collective bargaining agreements for most employees, its parental leave policy is much more equitable," agency press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said in an email.
He said all VA employees can request additional leave or leave without pay subject to the needs of the agency.
And he says that the agency, under Pres. Trump, has improved health care wait times for veterans.
Zoom out: The abrupt cancellation of a union contract is an unprecedented move at the federal level, says John Logan, a labor historian at San Francisco State University.
"The Trump administration seems determined to strip collective bargaining rights and rip up existing union contracts from all federal workers who currently have them."
The abrupt changes at the VA are making it difficult for the agency to hire doctors and nurses — 40% of the doctors offered jobs at VA hospitals turned them down in the first three months of this year, four times the rate the previous year, ProPublica reports.