Protesters rally against Durham VA
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Senior VA leadership in Durham took a beating Friday, as protesters unleashed chants and hurled accusations in front of VA headquarters in Durham.
"We've got your number, Dan Hoffman," shouted union leader Jay Cox. "We're ready for you and we're going to take you on!"
Cox's union, AFGE, represents some 200,000 VA workers around the country and he says the hospitals under Hoffman's leadership are some of the worst in the nation. Hoffman's territory includes eight VA hospitals scattered around North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
The group is called VISN 6 (Veteran Integrated Service Network). There are 22 VISNs in the country and protesters say VISN 6 is among the worst.
Complaints run the gamut: from employee concerns falling on deaf ears to employee pay cuts to a shortage of doctors and nurses.
Deborah Dantzler is an employee and union member at the VA hospital in Fayetteville.
"They are not hiring the staff to take care of veterans," Dantzler said, "especially doctors and nurses."
Workers also complained about what they described as "arbitrary" pay cuts to some of the lowest paid employees on the VA ladder. Some, including Willie Mae Bethea who works at the VA hospital in Roanoke, Virginia, say they've had their salary schedules adjusted downward with no explanation.
"It's devastating to our families and to our veterans," Bethea complained. She says her annual pay was cut by a thousand dollars a year, a reduction she says has led to family cutting back on staples.
"They said they had to make a cut and they had to save money and they save money with the lowest paid employees," she said. "How is that saving money?"
"This needs to stop," Cox said. "To be able to recruit and retain competent, qualified people to care for America's veterans, you have to pay these people a living wage."
Cox says there have been 25 percent more pay schedule downgrades in VISN 6 than at the other 21 VISN networks combined.
ABC11 reached out to Dan Hoffman and VA public affairs multiple times for their response to the protesters' accusations; they declined our requests for an interview.
