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SALT LAKE CITY — As snow fell and vehicles screamed past the sidewalk outside the George E. Wahlen Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, often kicking up water and slush, Rob Johnson and a group of union members persisted through it.
Johnson, a former veteran, carries with him a passion for helping fellow veterans.
This passion extends all the way to employees of Salt Lake City's Veterans Affairs Medical Center and on Monday, Johnson led a group of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2199 union members to rally in hopes of bringing awareness and solutions to what they say are severe staffing shortages and pay issues at the hospital as well as at VA hospitals nationwide.
"We stay here (at the VA medical center) because we love the veterans. We come out in snow because we love the veterans. We believe in what we do here. We believe it makes a difference and because of that, we stay," said Johnson, the union's president.
Johnson also works as an intermediate care technician at the hospital, a position that gives him a first-hand look into just how understaffed the hospital is, as well as how underpaid the employees are.
The VA Office of Inspector General's report found that VA hospital staffing shortages nationwide have increased by 22% since 2021 and that VA workers are significantly underpaid compared to their private sector counterparts.
Another report from the American Federation of Government Employees and the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute detailed the fallout from what was described in the report as "chronic underfunding and understaffing."
In response, Johnson and American Federation of Government Employees Local 2199 union members rallied to ask the VA to invest in its staff in an effort to increase retention by bringing social workers under the union contracts as a charter and by signing off on an 8.7% pay raise for the VA workforce in Salt Lake City and across the country.
"We're trying to make sure that social workers have got rights. We want to make sure that they can come under our contract as a charter," Johnson said. "We want an 8.7% raise. We've never gotten any type of real adjustment to our pay here at the VA."
Johnson explained that licensed practical nurses and registered nurses working at the VA make significantly less than nurses at other hospitals. He said that most of them are still at the VA hospital because they, like him, believe in the mission of the VA and want to serve veterans.
"There is no way we should be getting paid this little and trying to survive," Johnson said. "It's definitely poverty level (pay). With the rest of the cost of living in the state of Utah, our VA workers are so underpaid it's not even funny."
Inadequate pay, combined with a monthslong hiring process, Johnson said, combine to create a slippery slope that leads to understaffed hospitals.
Johnson also emphasized that he and the union members were not actually striking, just demonstrating with hopes of making a point that leads to changes.
"We will never strike against the VA, ever. We're very loyal to our veterans. The people that work inside those walls are very, very veteran-orientated," Johnson said. "We'll never quit our jobs, no matter what the cost."
Johnson said that if a VA hospital falls below 50% of being fully staffed (a number Salt Lake's VA medical center has hovered around), it will likely close. For veterans living in rural Utah or other states such as Idaho and eastern Nevada, this could make Denver the next closest VA hospital.
The VA, however, disputed the notion that the Salt Lake VA Medical Center has been in jeopardy of closing.
"VA Salt Lake City Health Care System is not in jeopardy of closing. Our system has filled 74.1%, or three out of four of our more than 3,300 full-time positions. Our hiring initiatives ensure veterans receive the best care from talented health care providers," said Angela Williams, director of the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System.
Johnson said that he has seen instances of staff being overworked.
"Everybody is working double shifts. ... Whatever they can to go ahead and make this thing work," Johnson said. "I've been here for 12 years; I'm not going anywhere. The people that I'm surrounded by are extremely loyal. They're not going anyplace but trying to onboard people, that's become a problem."
"Let's increase our pay. Let's get the social workers on board. That's all we're asking," he said.
