On a recent weekend at the Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Asheville, a nurse couldn’t find eye drops for a patient. They weren’t there because the supply technicians whose job it was to ensure the nurse stations were stocked had been fired, according to Brandee Morris, a union leader stationed at the Asheville medical center.
Initially fired in February, the status of 14 probationary employees remains unclear after a flurry of legal actions. Meanwhile, a steady stream of executive orders from President Donald Trump and large-scale firings by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency have caused confusion and chaos at the WNC veterans medical center.
A March 27 order effectively eliminated collective bargaining for much of the federal workforce, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). That means the local chapter of the Association of Federal Government Employees (AFGE) — whose membership has grown 20% since Trump took office — may lose its full-time employees. The union is suing the Trump administration over the order…