Trump Eliminates 157 Jobs at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center

The Trump administration has cut over 157 open roles at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and outpatient clinics across the Bay Area.

That’s according to the Federal Unionists Network, an association of federal workers, who say these jobs are critical. The SFVAMC employs physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals.

Frontline VA workers, veterans and union representatives from the National Federation of Federal Employees held a rally outside the Medical Center at 4150 Clement St in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon to protest the cuts.

They warned that cuts will weaken the VA health care system by translating into higher strain on the medical center in the form of “longer wait times, heavier patient loads, reduced services and increased safety risks for the veterans who rely on the VA for care”.

Mark Smith, an occupational therapist and the NFFE Local 1 Union president, said the positions lost include peer support specialists — veterans hired to support fellow veterans’ access to mental health treatment — as well as psychologists, therapists and nurses.

That includes the SFVAMC’s singular emergency room social worker position.

“I think that one is just ludicrous frankly … They help ensure veterans get the resources that they need when they’re in a crisis. This is absolutely going to have an impact on Bay Area veterans.”

This month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has begun the process of cutting up to 37,000 vacant positions nationwide in what government officials have called a “reorganization” of the VA health care system.

“Since March, we’ve been conducting a holistic review of the department centered on reducing bureaucracy and improving services to Veterans,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement in July. “As a result of our efforts, VA is headed in the right direction — both in terms of staff levels and customer service. A department-wide [Reduction in Force] is off the table, but that doesn’t mean we’re done improving VA. Our review has resulted in a host of new ideas for better serving Veterans that we will continue to pursue.”

Collins is expected to testify before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on the details surrounding proposed changes on Jan. 28.

The nationwide cuts were announced in December, targeting positions that have been vacant for at least a year. The VA has argued that the dissolution of these positions will not negatively affect care.

Smith disagreed. “That’s sort of like saying that, you know, you could throw out your fire extinguisher because your house hasn’t caught fire lately, and you have a sink and a bucket.”

The sunny afternoon rally in San Francisco’s Land End drew honks and cheers from passing cars. Suzanne Gordon, co-founder of the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute, told the crowd that the administration’s decision will strangle the system, and kill patients.

“It’ll end up depriving them of healthcare because of staff cuts and capping cuts … Every healthcare system has vacant positions, but a healthy healthcare system fills them quickly.”

The San Francisco rally followed one in New York City last week. Nurses and Veterans rallied in the Bronx against the Trump administration’s cuts, after the VA eliminated at least 383 veterans-related health care positions across the five boroughs.