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VA, VA Don't Try To Hide, You're On the Rich's Side!

By VVAW

KENT STATE

An enthusiastic march and demonstration, teargas and arrests marked the 8th Anniversary of the killings at Kent State. On May 4th, 1970, as U.S. troops poured into Cambodia, four Kent State students were murdered and 9 more injured when the Ohio National Guard, on orders from Governor Rhodes, fired on a student protest demonstration. Now, in 1978, what began as a candlelight vigil ended with the police trying to take revenge--revenge against those who refused to allow the memory of the killings and the resistance to be buried.

Official activities began the night before the 4th with students holding an all-night vigil on the spots where three of the students had been shot down--the gym, about one-third finished, hides the place where the fourth student was killed. Although the vigil began official activities, actions for the 4th began earlier. The Kent Chapter of the Revolutionary Student Brigade along with VVAW members from Milwaukee and Kent State took over the office of the university president, hitting him on both the counts of his participation in the Kent State cover-up and the facts that he personally holds stocks in U.S. corporations in South Africa. This action was coupled with teach-ins and leafleting.

On the day of the 4th, VVAW brought a contingent of vets from Milwaukee, Chicago and Battle Creek; vets from Akron and Kent joined us during the rally before the march. Although our contingent was small (it was both a work and school day), we definitely had a presence as we wore medals and fatigues. We marched with the May Fourth Coalition to historic sites of struggle on the campus; at the end of the march, VVAW was marching in front and broke into one of the vets' cadences. More vets marched with us and, at the end of the march there were two speeches by VVAW members.

The first speaker was a vet who had been part of the invasion force into Cambodia in 1970; the second was a new VVAW member from Battle Creek. After the speeches, the demonstration moved to the fence which surrounds the gym and there people were gassed by the police.

That evening as people were breaking up, the police hit, trying to take their revenge on a march which they could not attack when it was still together. At the Student Center they dragged off a student by his hair, jumping on him and cursing at him. When members of VVAW stepped in to demand that they stop dragging him by the hair, they pushed the vets off, grabbing one of the members of the National Office, Barry Romo, beating him and arresting him for "resisting arrest" and assault on a police officer. Barry ended up with bumps and bruises, plus one tooth which was knocked out when police forced a billy club down his throat. He was released on $4,500 bond with trial set for the future.

The spirit of Kent and Jackson State was not forgotten on May 4th. VVAW, along with others, stood up, marched and let the powers that be understand that this fighting spirit would not and could not be buried under the bricks of a gym.

The VVAW National Office needs helps with funds for Barry's defense; anyone wishing to contribute should send the money to the VVAW National Office.

WORK-STUDY: IT'S A LITTLE LIKE JOINING UP

(The following article is based on an interview with Lambert Caldwell, a Marine vet and member of the Chicago VVAW chapter. Like hundreds of thousands of other vets, it is impossible to survive and support a family on the GI Bill, so Lambert took advantage of the VA sponsored "work-study" program. Though his situation is particular, it represents the hassles faced by thousands of other vets in work-study, a program advertised as a great "benefit" for vets, but one which in fact lets the VA get cheap help by taking advantage of vets who can't get by on the GI Bill.)

Just like going into the military when many of us filled out our dream sheets thinking we might be able to have some choice of jobs, Lambert was assured of a job, Lambert was assured of a job at the VA regional Office, but ended up working the switchboard and providing directory service at one of Chicago's VA hospitals.

This followed an interview with the hospital's Personnel Director where she talked about the job; it was only later that some of the things she didn't bother to talk about became important—there was no explanation of pay, no statement about how long advance pay would take (vets on work-study are supposed to get advance pay for the first 100 hours of work at minimum wage—$2.65 an hour). More things not brought up were that there was no grievance procedure, no union, and that the VA can in fact terminate the contract at its convenience, conditions that even some of the most rotten sweatshops have a hard time imposing on their workers.

There are four or five different supervisors, but, "You can just take orders from them; as far as alleviating problems, forget it!" So, after a couple of weeks without the much-needed advance payment, Lambert went back to the Personnel Director. There he was told it would be coming after the first 150 hours of work—and he said he would quit, and left the office.

After thinking over the situation, however, he decided to go back to work—since he had gone in early to see the Personnel Director, he was in fact still on time for work. Though the Personnel Director had left for the day, she left instructions that he was fired, and that security people were to throw him out. After hassles, he worked anyhow. Administrators said he might not get paid for his time, but then, he wasn't getting paid anyhow!

The next day his prepayment check arrived.

His job was changed to the file department, headed by a 20 year ex-sergeant who "runs a tight ship" with strict 15-minute breaks which must be taken at the same time everyday, and with the hospital security officers informed about the time so that a work-study vet found out of his area at any other time must account for himself; no eating; no playing the radio—all for the sake of filing. (In fact, the Chicago Regional VA Office is famous for having hired ten vets to do nothing but search for lost files!)

The work-study vet is caught in a bind; for many of them, there is no choice but to take these slave-wage jobs since few jobs allow them to work around their in-class hours. Working conditions are often bad, but there is no avenue of official protest.

It's a little like joining up in the military in the first place—there are plenty of promises, plenty of rosy pictures painted about how life will be (Join the Army—Learn a Trade! Join the Navy—See the World!) When it comes right down to it, the system which used us once to fight their wars is now all too ready to use us once again!

DISABILITY HASSLE

Jimmy McCullough is a disabled Vietnam Navy vet in a wheelchair, and a member of VVAW in the Bay Area. Disabled veterans, even more than others, are dependent on the efficiency of the Veterans Administration, on checks getting out on time, on their needs not being overwhelmed by BA red tape and bureaucracy. The following article describes one situation where typically the VA raises its pretty rules and regulations and sets them against it supposed function—to serve the needs of vets.

Because of his particular situation, Jimmy McCullough received not only disability payments form the Veterans Administration, but a payment of $450 a month from the State of California which was designed to pay the full-time attendant that he needs. There are three states which will pay this money based on a form filled out by a doctor; however, the payment is not automatic but is decided on a case by case basis.

Payments ere working out pretty well until Jimmy had to miss his classes at Laney College in Oakland to attend the funeral of his father. Suddenly, he found all the funds cut off. He could not make the VA understand that money for an attendant had to be paid in advance; because of the low pay, there is a constant turnover and many of the people who are interested in the job need to be paid in advance. The rules specifically state that the money cannot be paid to a member of the vet's family. No, says the VA, that's not part of the VA regulation!

Faced with this problem, Jimmy called the office of Max Cleland, Director of the VA; he got no help. He called the office of a Congressman where he was told, "you're lucky you're getting it anyhow."

Once again, the VA had managed to make its regulations more important than the vets it should be trying to help. And its director—well, even though Cleland is a Vietnam vet in a wheelchair, chances are that the VA gets him his checks right on time, so why should he care? Congressmen—we've met up with this tribe before and their interests lie squarely with their rich backers. To win the gains that vets need there is only one place where we can turn—and that's to vets ourselves.