Milwaukee, WI
'They send you a letter like you’re nothing': Fired VA employee, local union rep react to federal terminations
MILWAUKEE — On Monday, several Milwaukee Veterans Affairs employees went into work with a job and left the building without one.
It was the latest effect of sweeping federal job cuts that have impacted employees nationwide, including in Wisconsin.
James Stancil said that within minutes of beginning his shift at Zablocki Veterans Affairs Hospital, his supervisor pulled him and a coworker aside to share what he described as shocking news.
“‘Check your email, you might have been terminated,’” he recalled being told. “I’m sorry, what? Wait, what?”
A veteran himself, Stancil worked as a supply technician at the hospital for nearly a year. He was in charge of ordering and organizing medical materials for staff.
He was nearing the end of his role’s probationary period, which the federal government describes as the 12 months following an employee’s start date that allows an agency to assess their performance, before being abruptly fired on Monday.
Watch: Fired VA employee, local union rep react to federal terminations at Milwaukee VA
Fired VA employee, local union rep react to federal terminations
The termination email he received was from a federal employee Stancil said he has never met.
The email said, in part: “The agency finds that your performance has not met the burden to demonstrate that your further employment at the agency would be in the public interest.”
It’s an allegation that doesn’t sit well with the 61-year-old. All of his performance reviews have passed with flying colors, Stancil told TMJ4.
“Do not question my performance. I’m not cheating anybody. I’m there to do a job and to do a job well.”
The union that represents Zablocki employees, Local 0003 AFGE, confirmed with TMJ4 that Stancil is one of three veterans and 10 employees to lose their jobs this week, with no severance and little clue what to do next.
Union President Michele Malone said other employees are now scared the same will happen to them.
“My office has had constant visitors, people that have never come into the union before,” Malone shared. “They’re terrified, asking if they’re next.”
TMJ4
Malone says the sudden loss of positions will quickly overwork the staff that remains and impact services for veterans.
“It might start here, but it’s going to affect everybody eventually,” she told TMJ4.
As government employees navigate next steps in what seems to be a constantly changing environment, Malone said VA workers and the union will be supporting each other.
“The union is there for you, and we are standing behind these people.”
The national branch of AFGE has filed a lawsuit against the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM)for what they allege are illegal mass firings of probationary employees which is in violation of federal law.
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MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Police Department requested the public’s help to find 11-year-old Sir’Charles Bason, a critically missing boy who was last seen near Teutonia and Kiley at around 6:20 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.
Police described Bason as 4 feet, 5 inches tall with a slim build, brown eyes and black, low-cut hair. He was last seen wearing a gray jacket with green lines, dark-colored jeans, tan sandals and carrying gray Nike Jordan shoes.
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What you can do:
Anyone with information on Bason’s whereabouts is asked to call Milwaukee Police District 4 at 414-935-7242.
The Source: The Milwaukee Police Department released information.
MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man, previously named one of Wisconsin’s Most Wanted, has been sentenced to prison for shooting and killing his cousin in 2020.
In court
What we know:
A Milwaukee County jury found 39-year-old Brandon Gladney guilty of first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firm by a felon earlier this year.
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Judge Michelle Havas sentenced Gladney to 29 years in prison on Friday, April 17. He was granted credit for more than a year’s time served and further sentenced to 14 years of extended supervision.
Arrested in Arizona after years on the run, court records show Gladney has also been ordered to pay the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office more than $1,800 for extradition costs.
Homicide investigation
The backstory:
The shooting happened in May 2020. Investigators said Gladney was captured on video apparently arguing with the victim, his cousin, outside a Milwaukee convenience store near 21st and Meinecke.
“It’s all on video, and it’s devastating for that family,” the marshal on the case told FOX6 when Gladney was profiled on Wisconsin’s Most Wanted. “You have a family member that shot and killed another family member.”
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Prosecutors said Gladney walked away but then returned with a gun pointed directly at the victim and shot him. The victim died from his gunshot wounds at a nearby hospital. Multiple bullet casings were found at the scene.
Gladney went on the run for years. He was arrested in Arizona in January 2023, years after he was charged.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the U.S. Marshals Service, Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior coverage.
Brice Turang slides to home plate to score during a game between the Miami Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers on April 17. (Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MIAMI – Garrett Mitchell went 2 for 4 with three RBIs including a two-run double in the 10th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 7-5 on Friday night.
By the numbers:
Miami’s Calvin Faucher (1-2) entered a 4-all game in the 10th and walked Gary Sánchez with Brice Turang on second. Jake Bauers hit a single to load the bases.
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Luis Rengifo reached first on a throwing error by second baseman Xavier Edwards, allowing Turang to score. Mitchell followed with his double.
The Marlins scored one run in the bottom of the 10th when Jakob Marsee came home on Trevor Megill’s wild pitch. Megill settled in for his fourth save.
Coleman Crow, who made his debut on the mound for the Brewers, threw 77 pitches over 5 1/3 innings. He threw four strikeouts, gave up two earned runs and a walk.
The right-hander was 2-0 with a 4.07 ERA in two starts with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. He missed part of the 2023 season and all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The Brewers scored three runs in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Mitchell hit an RBI single, Bauers scored on a forceout at first and Rengifo scored on a throwing error by catcher Agustín Ramírez.
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Miami’s Otto Lopez hit a triple to center field in the fourth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Owen Caissie. Lopez hit a two-run homer in the sixth to pull Miami within 4-3 and Ramírez doubled in the eighth to tie the game at four.
Abner Uribe (1-0) earned his first win of the season, coming on in the ninth inning.
Marlins third baseman Graham Pauley left the game in the seventh inning with right oblique discomfort after spinning out of the way of a pitch.
What’s next:
The Brewers and Marlins continue their 3-game series on Saturday, with Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 4.36 ERA) taking the mound for Milwaukee and Sandy Alcantara (2-1, 2.67) for Miami.
The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.
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