Wilkes-Barre VA employees rally over vacancies, patient care
Bill OBoyle, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Updated 6 min read
Feb. 2—WILKES-BARRE — Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center employees on Friday held an informational rally, seeking better treatment of employees and the veterans they serve.
Janet Oborski, an imaging technologist and President of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1699, and Don Drewett, legislative and political organizer for District 3 of the American Federation of Government Employees, said lack of pay adjustments and job vacancies are making it harder to hire new employees and provide care for the veterans.
"We have 275 job vacancies right now," Oborski said. "They say there's no hiring freeze, but what else would you call it."
Members of AFGE Local 1699, gathered between two inflatable symbols of a labor issue — Rosie the Riverter and Scabby the Rat — along Route 315 in the shadow of the VA Medical Center that sits on the hill above.
Oborski and Drewett said AFGE Local 1699 is rallying against Wilkes-Barre VAMC management's refusal to grant locality pay adjustments and the significant number of vacant job openings which have led to staff shortages, especially among the medical center's nurses.
"The lack of VA employees and management's inaction to fill these positions has made it needlessly more difficult for employees at Wilkes-Barre VAMC to provide the services our community's veterans deserve," the union said in a prepared statement.
The rally was be held in three shifts — from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Legislators support union
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, herself a veteran, has been critical of the VA management team. She said she completely supports the employees at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center in their effort to get fair treatment from the leadership there.
"Unfortunately, we know all too well that the leadership at the Wilkes-Barre VA hasn't always done the best job of taking care of our veterans, so it's not a big surprise that they haven't done a great job taking care of its employees, either," Garrity said. "It's another reason we need new leadership there."
Garrity said taking care of our veterans is much bigger than politics.
"When it comes right down to it, there are no Democratic or Republican veterans," Garrity said. "Nobody at Normandy or Fallujah asked their battle buddies what their political affiliation was. They talked about home, not politics. And here at home, it's our job to make sure our veterans get the care they deserve."
Garrity said what makes this situation even more disappointing is the fact that there is a great example of a VA Medical Center doing it right just 90 miles away.
"The Lebanon VA routinely gets good marks from patients and employees," Garrity said. "It's been named the top VA in the country for patient experience — and it's been ranked as one of the top 20 places to work among all VA Medical Centers. So we know Wilkes-Barre could be doing things much better."
U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, also issued a statement:
"We rely on the work of these dedicated professionals to care for veterans who risked their lives for our country," said Cartwright, a strong supporter of the VA Employee Fairness Act to expand collective bargaining opportunities for front line VA medical workers. "Healthcare professionals at Wilkes-Barre's VA Medical Center, many of them veterans themselves, are advocating for patient safety by requesting an increase in hiring along with higher wages that will help attract and retain essential workers, and I strongly support those goals."
Meuser: Raises will be processed
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, said his office has been in contact with the leadership of the Wilkes-Barre VA on this issue and the Medical Center is currently processing the locality pay scale increase as required by law.
"Wilkes-Barre VAMC has assured me these raises will be processed and awarded retroactively," Meuser said. "My office has encouraged WBVA leadership to act swiftly and prioritize the issuance of locality pay scale increases for the dedicated medical staff caring for our veterans."
And while the facility is working hard to remain competitive and hire nurses, Meuser said there are significant workforce shortages across the health care industry.
"To that end, in this Congress I've been fighting for legislative initiatives to address the challenges medical facilities face related to recruitment and retention of health care providers, including nursing staff," Meuser said.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton
"I stand with Wilkes-Barre VAMC workers exercising their right to organize for better wages and working conditions," Casey said. "Northeastern Pennsylvania veterans who sacrificed for our nation deserve the highest quality of care and the workers who provide that care deserve fair wages and solutions to chronic staffing shortages."
VA responds
The Wilkes-Barre Veterans Medical Center Director Russell Lloyd, issued the following response to Friday's union action:
"Our union partners are critical to ensuring that we deliver world-class care to veterans every day, and we support them fully. We greatly value our collaborative working relationship with union partners, which is built on trust and our shared mission. We look forward to continuing to work with them moving forward to provide world-class care to the veterans we serve.
"Each year, the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center performs a Nursing Salary Survey to help ensure that our nursing salaries remain competitive with those across the region. The Medical Center Director, in consultation with Human Resource Management Service, reviews available salary data, turnover rates, and vacancy rates to make certain that the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center and our remote clinics remain a competitive employer within our markets.
"In each of the last three years, all nursing staff (RNs/LPNs/CNAs) have received annual Cost of Living Allowances (2022-2.2%; 2023-4.1%; 2024-4.7%) and at least one additional salary increase as a result of Locality Pay Scale (LPS) reviews, with most receiving two LPS pay increases within the past three years. Adjustments resulting from LPS reviews vary by work unit and location. Overall, Nursing salaries have increased 14.9% — 19.7% over the last three years.
"As a healthcare system, Wilkes-Barre continues to recruit and hire qualified applicants, across all service lines, to ensure the sustained provision of high-quality healthcare to the veteran we serve. Overall staffing has increased by 61.5 Full Time Equivalent Employees since the beginning of the current Fiscal Year (FY) in October 2023. Nurse staffing has increased by 43 positions from FY 2021 to December 2023."
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
