Some union employees at the VA Illiana Health Care System in Danville staged a rally Wednesday seeking some help. They were joined at that rally by several area veterans.
Vicki Dodge, president of Local 1963 of the American Federation of Government Employees, says the workers want some vacancies filled. ‘’There’s 49-thousand national vacancies, but our biggest concern is local. We’ve got 130 vacancies and 10 posted, and it was promised to these veterans that their health care would be there when they got out of the service,’’ said Dodge. ‘’When you’ve got all these vacancies the demand isn’t being met, and they’re wanting to privatize.’’
Dodge says the Veterans simply want what they were promised. ‘’We really love our veterans – we love our VA. And we want to see these vacancies filled. Congress isn’t taking it seriously,’’ said Dodge. ‘’Ninety-two percent of the veterans say they don’t want a health care card and privatization. They want their VA deficiencies fixed so they can stay where they know and they love.’’
Dodge says the rally that workers held in downtown Danville was an effort to make the public aware of the problem. She adds hopefully citizens will contact their congressman and relay their concerns about it.
[Posted Aug. 17, 2017]
