T-R PHOTOS BY LANA BRADSTREAM
Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Todd Jacobus emphasizes a point he is making to protesters on Wednesday. Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs employee Karl Lettow stood with Jacobus and listened to grievances from residents and current and former IVH employees.
Emotions ran high during a Wednesday protest at the Iowa Veterans Home as cheers and applause went up, voices were raised and some tears were shed.
Close to 100 people gathered at the main gate of the IVH campus to speak out against the recent layoffs of 15 recreation employees. Once the protesters walked up the hill and reached Sheeler Hall, organizer Wyatt Manship said into a bullhorn, “Management, you should hang your heads in shame for cutting these programs. Support our vets.”
Commandant Todd Jacobus came out of the building to speak with them, and Manship asked him if he stood with the protesters. Jacobus told him he stands with veterans, something which he said Manship knows.
“I know there’s a good man under there,” Manship said. “I’ve seen you sit with dying people and stroke their hair. What the rest of this administration is doing is not right.”
Manship asked Jacobus if he valued IVH employees, and the commandant said he did.
“Then listen to us,” Manship said. “Draw a line in the sand and help us.”
Jacobus and Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs Spokesman Karl Lettow listened to the grievances aired by the protesters, such as problems with specific members of the administrative team, fear of retaliation for speaking out, voices not being heard and nurses with 20 years experience leaving because of management. Jacobus told them he gives employees opportunities to communicate with him.
“I have answered every complaint that has been given to me, every single one of them,” he said. “If there’s a staff member out here that knows an issue I have not addressed, I want you to raise your hand and tell me what that is.”
Standing before the crowd, Jacobus told them it was well-known there is no better place for a veteran to live.
“Period. There’s no question about that,” he said.
Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Todd Jacobus listens to the crowd on Wednesday who are protesting layoffs from the recreation department. Close to 100 people walked from the main campus gate to Sheeler Hall.
Manship asked why Jacobus was not standing up to Gov. Kim Reynolds to make it possible for jobs to be kept and programs to continue. Jacobus responded that no IVH programs were being cut.
“That is an inaccurate statement. That is not true,” he said in response to the claims. “Every program that we have, we continue to have.”
Some protesters said Jacobus might not have full knowledge of the scope of the grievances because he has not been in the position for very long. Manship said Jacobus should “get on the floor” like the last commandant, Matthew Peterson, and be a leader, something Jacobus said he does do.
After the protest, Lettow said they heard the multiple grievances and will work to improve communication with staff members. Some of the problems dated back to a time before himself or Jacobus got to IVH, he said. One thing he stressed was that employees do not have to worry about retaliation.
“There is nothing more American than the freedom of speech,” Lettow said. “Nobody in administration will take action against employees who are exercising their right to free speech and assembly. I am proud they felt like they could do that.”
Everyone has their own opinion, and while other opinions might differ, it is peoples right to express them, he said.
“At the end of the day, everybody here is on the same team,” Lettow said. “We want what is best for our veterans. Commandant Todd Jacobus is extremely passionate about that. Today, some grievances made it seem like he does not care, and I can’t think of anybody who does care more about his staff. We took down what was said and will figure out a way to make them feel heard and work with them.”
At the gate
Before proceeding to Sheeler Hall, protesters were given the opportunity to take the podium at the main campus gate. Food service employee Ray Rockingham was on break and said he was not afraid to speak. He has worked at IVH for 10 years and described it as a great and rewarding job.
“I’ve loved every minute of it,” Rockingham said.
He was glad to see the protest happening.
“Don’t forget, guys, when we go to the polls and vote, you have to know who you’re voting for,” Rockingham said. “You have to know if your job is on the line, who’s going to take away your job and who’s going to give you a job. It starts right here with a protest, but we got to continue to carry this on into the election hall, and we got to put in people who are going to secure jobs.”
Rockingham urged action from the top because that speaks louder than words.
Manship, who works as a social worker at IVH, said everyone should be outraged.
“Everyday we come here and work for the veterans, and we give it our all,” he said. “We are being cut to a skeleton crew. Our morale is very, very low, but we try. We try everyday to work as hard as we can for these veterans. We need Gov. Reynolds to step up and fund this place.”
Veteran and Iowa Veterans Home resident Jeff McLaughlin tells a Wednesday protest crowd about his experience since serving his country. His speech drew tears from members as McLaughlin said promises made to him have been broken.
Manship said IVH has a $2 million surplus in addition to another $1 million recently received and is $1.6 million short. He added that he feels the facility’s management needs to go.
“Cut the management, and don’t balance your budget on our backs and the backs of our veterans,” Manship said.
After Manship’s speech, a chant began moving through the crowd of “Start at the top.”
Some of the IVH residents joined the protest to voice their concerns. One veteran was Terry McCullough, who showed frequent bouts of enthusiasm as the demonstration continued. He told the crowd he expressed the opinion that one member of upper management had treated him disrespectfully.
“One of the lower supervisors told me to shut the hell up, and he’s still working here,” McCullough said. “If that’d been an hourly person, they would have been fired in a heartbeat. That’s got to stop.”
Protest organizer Wyatt Manship speaks with Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Todd Jacobus during a protest on Wednesday about recent recreation department layoffs.
Veteran Jake Knapp, who is the second vice president of the resident council, said what is happening is a “bunch of garbage.” The recreation employees do a lot of work, and by eliminating those positions, there is greater potential for suicide amongst the residents. If the administration took a 10 percent wage cut, all of the jobs could have been saved, he said.
“You take the rec therapists away, that means people are going to be staying in their rooms more because they don’t have anything to do,” Knapp said.
He extended a question to Gov. Kim Reynolds.
“What are you trying to hide that you won’t let the state auditor come in and audit the books?” Knapp asked.
Veteran Jeff McLaughlin said when he entered the service, promises were made to him if he served in the United States Navy.
“If I’m killed, they’ll bury me,” he said. “If I’m injured, they’ll heal me. If I’m sick, they’ll heal me. Today, I’m finding out all of those promises have been broken.”
McLaughlin became emotional as he revealed that he had Parkinson’s disease. Fellow protesters supported him and told the veteran they have his back. McLaughlin said he went out on the town on Wednesday to get some food during a field trip.
“It was a fun experience, and I don’t get to go often because I don’t have the money,” he said. “When I do have the money, I go on them, and I want to thank the employees for taking care of me when I don’t have anything.
District 71 Rep. Sue Cahill said it was important for IVH workers to have an environment in which they can work to the best of their abilities and provide the resident veterans with the best possible care.
“We are here today because our veterans deserve the best care possible,” she said. “They deserve our best, the best the state can offer. They deserve adequate funding for their medical needs and for the employees who deliver their daily care. The Vets Home administration needs to be good stewards of the state’s money, but our Iowa veterans are too important to shortchange them as costs skyrocket.”
Cahill said Reynolds recently announced that the state will provide another $56 million in funds for private schools, an amount which was not budgeted.
“If this is a budget problem, the money is there, and we need to solve this problem,” she said.
Manship said after the protest he thought it went well, with people from all walks of life – community members, former and current IVH staff members and resident veterans. Employees who were working during the protest walked by, and offered support, but would not join. Manship said they were afraid of retaliation.
“They wanted to participate, but they were scared,” he said. “Hopefully they will now feel more comfortable.”
Manship hopes the protest will start a chain reaction.
Iowa Veterans Home employee Ray Rockingham tells the protest crowd he is one of the few workers who are not afraid to speak up. People gathered in front of the campus to protest recent layoffs.
“I am trying to get something moving,” he said. “No one has stood up to the administration before. As a social worker, it’s my job to stand up. I see it everyday, the low morale. I hope more people see this and are outraged. I hope the state fully funds the Iowa Veterans Home and not cut things.”
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.
Veteran Jake Knapp, who is the second vice president of the resident council at Iowa Veterans Home, speaks about what he has seen at the state-run facility during Wednesday’s protest.
Veteran Terry McCullough was one of residents who spoke up at the protest in front of the Iowa Veterans Home.
Iowa Veterans Home protesters cheer between speeches at the gate of the campus.
District 71 Rep. Sue Cahill (D-Marshalltown) speaks at the protest in front of the Iowa Veterans Home on Wednesday. The protest drew almost 100 people to the IVH gate before walking up the hill to protest in front of Sheeler Hall.
