Trump cuts leave VA hospital nurses and veteran patients in a crisis

Trump cuts leave VA hospital nurses and veteran patients in a crisis

Author: Working People June 5, 2025 Duration: 54:10
Already burdened by years of funding cuts and understaffing, registered nurses who work at Veterans Health Administration (VA) facilities across the country are facing a crisis as the impact of the Trump administration's cuts to the federal workforce take effect. In this episode of Working People, Maximillian Alvarez speaks with VA nurses and union representatives for National Nurses United about how these cuts, coupled with Trump's attempt to strip over one million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights, are hurting VA workers, the quality of care they've been trained to provide, and the veterans they serve.Guest(s):
  • Irma Westmoreland, a registered VA nurse in Augusta, Georgia, who currently serves as secretary-treasurer of National Nurses United and chair of the National Nurses United Organizing Committee/NNU-VA
  • Sharda Fornnarino, a navy veteran who has worked as a VA nurse for 25 years, and who currently serves as the National Nurses United director of the Denver VA.
Additional links/info:
Featured Music:
  • Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
Credits:
  • Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
 

There’s a conversation happening about the economy, politics, and culture, but too often the actual voices of the people who keep everything running are absent. Working People changes that. This is a place where the lived experience of the working class in modern America takes center stage. Produced in partnership with In These Times magazine and The Real News Network, each episode is built around a candid interview with someone from the vast and varied landscape of the American workforce. You’ll hear from teachers, factory workers, service industry employees, caregivers, and many others, each sharing the unvarnished details of their daily reality. Conversations naturally unfold to cover not just the specifics of their jobs, but the broader context of their lives-their personal histories, their political views, the dynamics within their families, and the unique blend of satisfaction and struggle that defines their world. The Working People podcast doesn’t offer abstract analysis; it provides a direct, human connection to the stories that collectively shape our society. It’s about understanding the hopes, the frustrations, and the resilience that are woven into the fabric of working-class life today. By listening, you get a genuine portrait of the people whose labor is so often discussed, yet whose own narratives are so rarely heard in such depth.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Working People
Podcast Episodes
'We're done': Starbucks workers launch indefinite national strike [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:02
Four years after the first Starbucks store in the US unionized in 2021, workers across the country are still facing rampant union busting and still fighting for a first contract with the coffee giant. That is why a super…
Workers replaced by AI have a dire warning for the world [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:47
In this special crossover edition of Working People and The Marc Steiner Show, hosts Maximillian Alvarez and Marc Steiner examine how the "artificial intelligence" (AI) boom is shaping the economy and the impact it is al…
Microsoft cancels Israeli spy unit access after tech worker revolt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:18
In a stunning and massive development, tech giant Microsoft has announced that it is terminating parts of the Israeli military's access to proprietary technology that it was using to conduct mass surveillance and targeti…
The biggest labor story in the US right now is happening at Microsoft [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:13
Current and former tech workers with the No Azure for Apartheid coalition continue to disrupt business as usual at Microsoft's global headquarters in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide, and in protest of Micr…