Department of Veterans Affairs

A staffer for the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System has alleged retaliation after he spoke out about the deteriorating conditions of a building on the south Seattle campus that housed specialty clinics and office space. Douglas Galuszka, chief of logistics, was issued two suspensions totaling three weeks of unpaid leave this year. He said VA administrators punished him for calling attention to leadership failures at the hospital and talking with press. According to Galuszka, the two suspensions he served mark the only discipline he has received in his seven years working for the VA. Prior to the suspensions, Galuszka said, he was not counseled by a supervisor or required to go through training.

A loud whoosh brought Cortez Hopkins out of his office. Two ceiling tiles had crashed down where moments before a staffer had sat packing up records. Water trickled down as Hopkins snapped pictures of the damage. Hopkins and others were working overtime in the logistics office of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System campus in South Seattle as nearly an inch of rain dumped on the region that Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.

Roughly nine in 10 employees of the state of Washington are now vaccinated against COVID-19. Gov. Jay Inslee considers that a huge success and a win for public health. But his vaccine mandate has also led to the departure of hundreds of state employees. Now there are questions about the implications for some state services.

The lawmakers have been using the offices to meet with veterans. At least one believes the eviction is payback for his tough questioning of VA Secretary Robert Wilkie in April.