The Department of Veterans Affairs terminated most of its collective bargaining agreements earlier this month, as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce public-sector unions’ influence in the federal government. The VA contracts were some of the most generous in the federal workforce, according to union leaders and the Biden officials who approved them.

The VA previously said 1,900 employees spent 750,000 hours on union activities in 2024, and over 187,000 square feet of office space was devoted to union activities, free of charge. Now, it says that reclaiming that time and resources will save $45 million which can be recommitted to care for veterans.

The bulk of those savings, $39.75 million, comes from ending “union time,” the practice by which taxpayers fund union activities by government employees. This is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration throughout the federal government to reduce the practice. Over 1,000 VA employees in direct patient-care roles were serving union time last year.

“The vast majority of these employees are now back working full time for VA in the positions they were hired to do — rather than performing work on behalf of the union,” the department says.

The reclaimed office space is worth $5.4 million. “This space will be repurposed to serve VA beneficiaries. VA will use this reclaimed space to expand administrative and clinical services in several facilities across the country,” the VA says.

The residual comes from taking back $600,000 worth of IT equipment. Union representatives previously had over 2,000 pieces of technology they were using for union activities free of charge.

When Congress approves the budget for the VA, the money should be going to care for veterans, not union activities. The public should not be forced to fund labor organizations that bargain against the public. The Trump administration is standing up for taxpayers and for veterans by rooting out public-sector unions at the VA.