Press Release: Union Vets Council
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO
Date: April 17, 2026
Email: cromanovich@unionveterans.org
Union Veterans Council Denounces Secretary Hegseth’s "War on Workers": Cancellation of DOD Union Contracts Betrays Hundreds of Thousands of Veterans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Craig Romanovich, Executive Director of the Union Veterans Council (UVC), AFL-CIO, issued a rebuke today following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive to immediately terminate collective bargaining agreements across the Department of War (DOW). The move, executed under Executive Order 14251, strips union rights from over 300,000 civilian employees—nearly half of whom are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.
“This isn't about national security; it’s a direct assault on the very people who have already sacrificed for this country,” said Craig Romanovich. “Secretary Hegseth is treating veteran workers like a line-item expense to be cut rather than the backbone of our national defense. By ripping up these contracts, the administration is stripping veterans of the workplace protections, fair pay, and safety standards they earned through years of service both in and out of uniform.”
Betraying the Veteran Workforce
The DOW is the nation's largest employer of veterans. In the civilian workforce, veterans rely on union-negotiated contracts to ensure that military service is respected and that the transition into federal service provides the stability their families deserve.
- Loss of Protections: The cancellation removes critical procedural safeguards for grievance handling and disciplinary actions, leaving veterans vulnerable to arbitrary management decisions.
- Economic Instability: By bypassing negotiated pay scales and benefits, the administration is creating a climate of economic uncertainty for veteran families during a period of rising unemployment in the veteran community.
A Critical Blow to Force Readiness
The Union Veterans Council warns that silencing the civilian workforce will have catastrophic effects on military readiness. Civilian employees—including mechanics, logistics experts, and cyber technicians—perform the essential "behind the wire" work that keeps our ships sailing and planes flying.
“You cannot have a ready force when you are demoralizing the people who maintain it,” Romanovich continued. “Stripping union rights creates a brain drain of technical expertise. When seasoned veterans and skilled technicians leave for the private sector because their rights were vaporized in a 24-hour memo, the mission fails. This is a self-inflicted wound to our national security.”
The UVC is calling on Congress to immediately intervene and for the administration to reverse this unlawful directive. We stand in total solidarity with the AFGE and all labor partners fighting this in federal court.
“Service to this country is not a political tool, and the rights of those who served are not negotiable,” said Romanovich. “We will not sit idly by while this administration weaponizes the Department of War against its own veteran workforce.”
About the Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO: The Union Veterans Council brings together union veterans to speak out on the issues that matter most to those who have served. We fight for good jobs, a strong VA, and the right of every veteran to have a voice in the workplace.
Craig Romanovich
Executive Director: Union Veterans Council
The Power of Labor. The Honor of Service.