SALT LAKE CITY — As the United States nears a week spent in a government shutdown, FOX 13 News is keeping an eye on how this is affecting Utahns in the federal workforce.
Last week, we highlighted how some workers are being impacted at Hill Air Force Base.
Similarly hard-hit is the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Whether you’re making a trip to the hospital in Salt Lake or making a call to their benefits hotline, VA workers are ready to answer those who served.
“We do everything from answer phone calls for veterans to handling their own financial affairs,” said Teresa Salazar, who works for the Veterans Business Administration (VBA) in Salt Lake City.
Salazar rates seven to ten disability claims a day and found a calling in that claims center.
“My father’s a retired master sergeant in the Air Force,” Salazar said. “I was raised military. I believe the most deserving people in the world that need our care is the veterans.”
“I’ve been home all this time until this last year,” she added.
A Vice President of AFGE Local 2199 for the VBA, they’ve seen membership dwindle from nearly 2,000 to just 500 since the Trump administration took office, as they dealt with reductions in force and issues over the categorization of employees. Then, the shutdown hit.
“So far, the hospital is okay,” said Salazar. “The Veterans Business Administration — every single person is being affected.”
She estimates there are 1,000 people in those call and claim centers — and their workers come from across the country.
“I’m still going to show up because it’s not the veterans’ fault that we’re in this predicament,” said Erika Parks.
Parks is a veteran herself and she works remotely from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to help Utah’s veterans. Like many others, she’s now working without pay.
“You just feel unheard,” she added.
The impacts may even extend to our national cemeteries. The VA’s website notes that maintenance will not be done on the grounds, that headstones will not be placed and that pre-need burial applications will not be processed.
AFL-CIO Utah also represents VA workers (among other federal agencies) and President Jeff Worthington says fellow unions have support ready for one another.
“We’ve got great volunteerism within our union structure to where if people are in a bad way and we’ve got other unions that are prosperous, they’ll step forward and help out,” said Worthington.
But Salazar still worries for her fellow employees.
“I have employees reaching out to me that are not going to be able to afford their medical supplies, they’re not going to be able to pay their mortgages or feed their kids,” said Salazar. “It’s devastating.”
With leaders in Washington still at an impasse, they worry about how this ongoing lack of resources will affect veterans and their healthcare, too.
“It just seems to me that we’re going backwards,” Worthington said. “We need to be building up our country instead of going backwards.”
The shutdown has also brought a halt to public affairs work in the department, meaning the VA cannot answer any press inquiries.
If you are being affected by the government shutdown, we want to hear from you. Send an email to reporter Jeremy Tombs (jeremy.tombs@fox13now.com) or to our newsroom (news@fox13now.com).
