Enough Is Enough, Mr. Secretary: Local 17 Draws a Line

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” Frederick Douglass

For the past 18 months, many of you have felt powerless when you come to work. Working conditions have steadily eroded: return-to-office mandates, unrealistic workloads and quotas, discrimination based on race, gender, and disability, and increasingly hostile workplaces.

Through it all, the imbalance of power has been impossible to ignore. We depend on our jobs for food and shelter, health care, financial security, and the dignity and self-respect that come from meaningful work. That reality forces good people to tolerate treatment they would never otherwise accept.

Welcome to this week’s edition of Local 17 in Action, our weekly look at how your union is advocating for employees across VA Central Office.

There is a line

We can all agree that there is a line. Depending on a paycheck should never be mistaken for permission to dehumanize anyone. No one should have to surrender their dignity in exchange for their livelihood. Yet too often at VA, employees have watched abusive conduct go unchecked while those with the least power bear the consequences.

We all see it. We all understand it. And we all agree: enough is enough.

That is the cruel dilemma. Everyone can see the elephant in the room, but saying so out loud can put your livelihood at risk. So good people keep their heads down. They do their jobs. They provide for their families. And too often, they suffer in silence.

You are not voiceless. You have a voice, and it is called AFGE. Sometimes using that voice means drawing a line and refusing to move it. That is exactly what Local 17 is doing for an employee we will call Nicole McHale.

We have changed Nicole’s name to protect her from potential retaliation.

”You work for me”

Nicole is a Black woman. Her supervisor is a White man who stands about a foot taller than she does.

While Nicole was helping a colleague resolve a work issue, her front-line supervisor confronted her. During the tirade that followed, he stepped into her personal space, stood over her, and shook his fist and finger down toward her face as he screamed, “Don’t get your job twisted. You work for me.”

Let those words sink in. You work for me.

Nicole was frightened. She later sought emergency medical treatment, believing she was having a heart attack. Her treating psychiatric provider now describes what she experienced as “occupational trauma” and has determined that she is medically unable to return to work.

And somehow, Nicole is the one paying the price. While she recovers, she has been forced to exhaust her own leave and face financial hardship.

No employee belongs to a supervisor. No employee surrenders their humanity when they walk through the doors of the Department of Veterans Affairs. And no employee should have to choose between protecting their dignity and protecting their livelihood.

Where Local 17 draws the line

Frederick Douglass reminded us that power concedes nothing without a demand. The letter below puts Secretary Collins on notice of ours: protect Nicole, restore the leave and pay she has lost, and stop forcing her to carry the financial consequences of what happened to her at work.

If those demands are not met, we will escalate. For obvious reasons, we cannot disclose the steps we are prepared to take. But we can tell you this: they will be deliberate, lawful, and impactful.

Nicole does not have to fight this battle alone. The members of AFGE Local 17 stand behind her.

Our letter to Secretary Collins

The letter is reproduced below as sent on August 31, 2026.

Dear Secretary Collins:

Last November, you told every VA employee that the Department must provide “a safe and respectful culture for everyone” and that managers and supervisors have a “special responsibility” to foster a professional and respectful workplace. What happened to Nicole McHale in the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs (OCLA) reflects a failure on both counts. The occupational trauma inflicted by her supervisor, and OCLA leadership’s failure to protect her afterward, make a mockery of those commitments. I am therefore requesting your immediate intervention to protect Ms. McHale, make her financially whole, and avoid the need to escalate this matter and cause further embarrassment to the Department.

On May 15, supervisor Charles (Bo) Prosch confronted employee Nicole McHale while yelling and aggressively gesturing with his fist and finger. Nicole reasonably feared imminent physical violence, particularly given Mr. Prosch’s level of rage and the fact that he towers over her by approximately a foot. Nicole subsequently sought emergency medical treatment believing she was having a heart attack.

This was not a routine workplace disagreement. Nicole’s treating psychiatric provider describes what she experienced as “occupational trauma.” Despite ongoing psychiatric treatment and a new medication regimen, Nicole remains medically incapacitated for duty. Her provider has expressly determined that she is not medically cleared to return to work and has extended her medical leave through October 24, 2026. Her provider further warns that exposure to the workplace environment or individuals associated with the traumatic event could significantly worsen her condition and pose additional risks to her health.

Yet instead of protecting Nicole while she recovers, OCLA has allowed her to exhaust her own annual and sick leave and face potential financial hardship while its leadership turns to VA’s Office of General Counsel to defend its handling of the matter. The employee who suffered occupational trauma is therefore paying the price for management’s failure to protect her. That result is indefensible.

Last summer, I warned you that OCLA was deeply dysfunctional. When Don Bergin took over, Local 17 publicly expressed hope that he would restore professionalism and stability. Instead, the environment has gone from bad to worse. Given the recent criticism of VA’s congressional relations from Republican lawmakers and the White House, that should concern you.

I have two sons. If either of them held Don Bergin’s position and allowed this to happen to someone entrusted to his care, and then permitted her to suffer financially while recovering from the resulting occupational trauma, I would feel deeply ashamed that I had failed as a father. I have taught my sons something very simple: men protect, and leaders protect. In this instance, Don did neither. As Jesus taught, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.” (Luke 12:48). Mr. Secretary, Don failed Nicole. Please don’t fail her too. Protect Nicole McHale.

Accordingly, Local 17 asks that VA take the following actions no later than September 8, 2026:

Restore all annual and sick leave Ms. McHale was required to use as a direct result of the May 15 incident and its aftermath, including her subsequent re-exposure to the workplace environment;
Place Ms. McHale on paid administrative leave through October 24, 2026, consistent with her treating provider’s determination that she remains medically incapacitated for duty;
Restore any pay and benefits she has lost through LWOP; and
Correct any unsupported AWOL designation arising from these circumstances.

We are not asking you to prejudge the ultimate legal responsibility for what occurred on May 15. We are asking you to ensure that Nicole does not continue bearing the financial consequences of occupational trauma she suffered at work while VA’s own processes play out.

We are asking you to enforce, in Nicole’s case, the standard you set for the Department last November.

I respectfully request confirmation by September 8 that these actions have been taken.

Sincerely,

Douglas E. Massey, Esq. President, AFGE Local 17, AFL-CIO

If this is happening to you

Nicole’s story is unusual only in how far it went. Plenty of employees at VA Central Office are working for someone who yells, looms, threatens, or makes it clear who holds the power. If that sounds like your workplace, you do not have to keep your head down and absorb it.

Contact Local 17. Tell us what is happening. The earlier we hear about it, the more options you have.

In solidarity,