Bethanie Cole took a day off work from her job at the Federal Bureau of Prisons to stand on West Waterloo Road in Akron holding a sign that said, “Bring back laid off VA employees.” It was important to her for a simple reason, she said: Protesting is the right thing to do.

Cole, a Tallmadge resident and the treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 607, said she wanted to show solidarity with Veterans Affairs employees whose jobs were eliminated and other federal employees who have been targeted by massive cuts.

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“If I don’t stand up for those affected now, it’ll be me next. I want to show solidarity when I still have the power to do so,” she said. “I wouldn’t feel good about myself if I did not stand up for the right thing.”

Cole was one of about 200 people who gathered outside the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Akron Tuesday morning for about an hour, one of a series of protests planned by the federal employees’ union. The efforts are in response to the elimination of thousands of federal jobs across many agencies led by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and Elon Musk.

Protesters line the street in front of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic
Protesters line the street in front of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic on West Waterloo Road in Akron. The group gathered to express their disapproval of federal cuts to veterans’ services and the federal workforce. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-13, made some remarks, along with union officials representing government workers in the area. The protest was sponsored by American Federation of Government Employees Local 31. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)

‘You are the people with the power’

“We are not going to stand around and let Elon Musk disrespect and disregard our veterans,” said U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, who was also among the attendees. “I don’t even think shameful is a strong enough word for what they’re doing.”

“Disgusting!” some members of the crowd shouted back at Sykes.

Congress has the ability to find waste and efficiencies within the government, Sykes said, but the cuts that are being made are not being done thoughtfully — instead, they are degrading communities and creating tax giveaways for the wealthy.

Rep. Emilia Sykes talks with protesters
Rep. Emilia Sykes talks with protesters gathered in front of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic on West Waterloo Road in Akron. The group was protesting cuts to the federal workforce and veterans’ services. The protest was sponsored by American Federation of Government Employees Local 31. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)

But as more people share their frustrations with the process, she said, change is more likely to come.

“You are the people with the power,” Sykes told the crowd. “It’s going to be a long fight, but I know I’ve got the right people with me.”

‘We live in a democracy’

Sykes was referring to people like Heather Wicks, an Akron resident who said she was “horribly opposed” to what has been happening at the federal level and hopes that protests like this one will help wake people up to what’s happening and how it affects them. As protesters lined West Waterloo Road with their signs, cars repeatedly honked their horns in support, something that Wicks said gave her hope about the attention people are paying.

They’re also people like Cynthia Marshall, a retired teacher whose daughter works at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — her job is safe, for now — and whose father fought in World War II. Marshall, a Louisville resident, said she was honoring her father’s memory by fighting back.

Heather Wicks of Akron, left, stands in front of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Akron
Heather Wicks, left, stands in front of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Akron after protesting cuts to the federal workforce and veterans’ services. Wicks said she hopes that protests like this one will help wake people up to what’s happening and how it affects them.(Susan Zake / Signal Akron)

“I hope what’s going to eventually happen is a groundswell of people are going to stand up and say, ‘This is not OK,’ and Congress is going to do something,” she said. “Right now, they’re not. I think they’re going to have to respond.”

And they’re people like Steve Kmet, a retired Teamster who said he was really irritated by Musk, who was not elected, and wanted to support federal workers who were being eliminated “for no good reason.”

“We live in a democracy,” he said. “We don’t live in a kingdom.”

Dan Medkeff of Cuyahoga Falls sits in front of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Akron
Dan Medkeff of Cuyahoga Falls sits in front of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Akron after protesting cuts to the federal workforce and veterans’ services. Medkeff is an infantry veteran of the Vietnam War and was awarded a Purple Heart for his service. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)

‘Public sentiment is behind federal employees’

The number of people who showed up to protest was “unbelievable, it’s great,” said Dan Medkeff, a Cuyahoga Falls resident who was drafted into the Vietnam war and left with a Purple Heart and shrapnel in his neck and chest.

Signs at the protest read, “Stop the billionaire takeover,” “Government workers work for America,” “Public service is a badge of honor,” “All VA employees are essential,” “No more tax cuts for billionaires” and “Dump DOGE.” 

Linda Bezbatchenko of Tallmadge holds up a sign that says "Government Workers Work for America!"
Linda Bezbatchenko of Tallmadge holds up a sign that says “Government Workers Work for America!” as she faces approaching traffic along West Waterloo Road. Bezbatchenko, along with a large group of protesters, gathered in front of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Akron. The group was protesting cuts to the federal workforce and veterans’ services. The protest was sponsored by American Federation of Government Employees Local 31. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)

Darryll Bell, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 31, who works for the VA, said he’s seen increasing turnout at similar events as the union seeks to make people aware of what’s happening to employees and how that will impact Americans.

“We see that the public sentiment is behind federal employees,” Bell said. “If we don’t stop this from happening, this is going to get tremendously worse for all parties involved. It’s just got to stop.”

At the VA, cuts affect the family members of veterans as well as veterans themselves, said Allicia Jennings, a police dispatcher for the VA in Cleveland, the treasurer of Local 31 and a daughter of a veteran. 

A protester, who declined to give his name, waves at cars driving along West Waterloo Road in Akron across the street from the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic
A protester, who declined to give his name, waves at cars driving along West Waterloo Road in Akron across the street from the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. The protester said his portrayal of President Donald Trump in a striped prison suit was his idea of “Trump in a perfect world.” A large group gathered in front of the clinic to hear remarks from Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-13, and to protest cuts to veterans’ services and the layoff of federal employees. The protest was sponsored by American Federation of Government Employees Local 31. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)

And Joseph Mayle, the former union president of Local 607, a veteran and a retiree from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said he and others are asking for Americans to protect them as they worked to protect the country.

“If we don’t stand up for them, who’s going to stand up for us?” he asked.

Air Force veteran Larry Gabler, who lives in Cuyahoga Falls, no longer feels like he can depend on Congress to take action. Instead, he said, it’s up to Americans like him to stand up for the country they want.

“I took an oath and my oath does not expire. I will defend this ‘til the day I die,” Gabler said. “There’s one solution to it, and it’s us.”

Economics of Akron Reporter (she/her)
Arielle is a Northeast Ohio native with more than 20 years of reporting experience in Cleveland, Atlanta and Detroit. She joined Signal Akron as its founding education reporter, where she covered Akron Public Schools and the University of Akron.
As the economics of Akron reporter, Arielle will cover topics including housing, economic development and job availability. Through her reporting, she aims to help Akron residents understand the economic issues that are affecting their ability to live full lives in the city, and highlight information that can help residents make decisions. Arielle values diverse voices in her reporting and seeks to write about under-covered issues and groups.