IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – The Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City has fired 6 of its employees, and several Veteran’s Affairs employees are now speaking out.
Some government employees in Iowa City say they feel abandoned by Iowa representatives like southeast Iowa US Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
VA employees said job cuts will cause government agencies to fall behind.
‘Save the VA’ and ‘Nobody Elected Musk’ signs flanked Patrick Kearns, a longtime nurse at the Iowa City V-A, as he urged U-S Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks to support federal employees.
“There’s 7,000 federal employees in her district. She won by less than 1,000 votes, we’re gonna remember that,” Kearns said.
Kearns is also the president of the American Federation of Government Employees in Iowa City. He said his goal is to get Rep. Miller-Meeks to take a definitive stance on the mass firings of federal employees.
“She knows what the consequences of dismantling an organization like the VA are. She needs to take a position on that and not blindly follow along with either her caucus in the congress or the president,” Kearns said.
Iowa City’s Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center recently fired six of its employees, and VA workers said the patients they serve are suffering the costs.
“The services might not be up to the standard that we’re used to that we want to achieve. It’s impossible with less resources,” said Jennifer Clark Gonzales, a VA nurse.
People were asked to sign a message board with their thoughts and concerns for Rep. Miller-Meeks. The message will be taken to her office in Davenport next Thursday.
“And I just wonder what she’s thinking after seeing our faces, seeing the veterans in our facility that’s top-rated. What are you thinking and why are you helping?,” Clark Gonzalez said.
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