Union leaders said the Trump administration's planned cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs will affect veterans in Maine and around the country.
The administration reportedly plans to cut more than 80,000 jobs from the VA at a time when claims have skyrocketed. Scott Surette, a Marine Corps veteran and president of the southern Maine branch of the postal mail handlers union, said the effects will be wide ranging.
"We know what that will mean," he said. "It'll mean delays in veterans seeking care. It will mean delays in receiving benefits. It'll mean harm to veterans. It'll mean a decline in the quality of care veterans receive. It will mean a promise broken, and as a veteran as it's just plain wrong."
Nearly a third federal employees are veterans, and Maine AFL-CIO said preferential hiring practices have made federal jobs a key support in veterans transitioning into civilian life.
The Maine AFL-CIO said the cuts have been particularly painful in Maine, where veterans make up 10% of the state's adult population — well above the national average.
Scott Adams is an Army veteran and president of the southern Maine branch of the postal workers union.
"And it's frustrating, Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies are pushing to cut the federal workforce by 50% when you bring the chainsaw to the federal workforce, you're by definition, bringing a chainsaw to veterans who have served this country, and it's wrong," he said.
Adams and other union leaders are urging Maine's congressional delegation to push back against cuts at the VA and other federal agencies.
