WASHINGTON, DC — Hundreds of federal workers, union leaders, and allies are expected to gather Wednesday at Upper Senate Park to urge the U.S. Senate to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act (PAWA), legislation that would restore collective bargaining rights stripped from more than one million federal employees under the Trump administration.

Members of National Federation of Federal Employees Local 1, which represents nurses, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists, rehabilitation therapists and other health care professionals at the San Francisco VA Health Care System, along with frontline VA workers and community allies, will rally Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) to oppose sweeping staffing cuts and call on Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to reverse the reductions and fully fund veterans’ health care.

A rally and speaker program will urge the Senate to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act (PAWA) — bipartisan legislation to restore collective bargaining rights for over one million federal workers stripped of union protections in 2025.

The Trump 2025 shutdown has become the longest in U.S. history—its central fight over healthcare threatening 22–24 million Americans with skyrocketing premiums.