What official statements have the Minneapolis VA and AFGE made about Alex Pretti’s employment status?
Executive summary
The Minneapolis VA has been identified by multiple officials and outlets as Alex Pretti’s employer, stating he worked in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System; that confirmation was echoed by the VA secretary and by coworkers [1] [2] [3]. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) — both its national president and the local chapter — publicly acknowledged Pretti as a member and expressed grief, while separate viral claims that he had been fired from another hospital have been debunked by fact-checkers [4] [1] [5].
1. Minneapolis VA: official confirmations that Pretti was an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA
Federal and local sources have repeatedly identified Pretti as an ICU registered nurse employed by the Minneapolis VA Medical Center or Minneapolis VA Health Care System, a fact confirmed by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs and reported across mainstream outlets [1] [2] [3]. Colleagues and institutional statements described him as an ICU nurse who had cared for critically ill veterans and who had been on staff for several years, with multiple news organizations quoting co-workers’ memories of his role at the VA [6] [7] [8]. Reporting also documents internal VA workplace reactions and personnel decisions tied to memorials and staff communications after his death, underscoring the VA’s framing of Pretti as an on-staff employee rather than a former or outside worker [9].
2. AFGE: union acknowledgement and membership statements
The American Federation of Government Employees publicly identified Pretti as a union member affiliated with its Minneapolis VA chapter and issued statements expressing sorrow: AFGE President Everett Kelley said the union was “heartbroken,” and AFGE’s local chapter posted that Pretti was a member of AFGE Local 3669 [4] [1]. Those union acknowledgements function as both an affirmation of Pretti’s employment connection to the VA and as an institutional expression of loss and solidarity from the collective body that represents many federal VA workers [4].
3. Debunking of counterclaims that he’d been fired and why those matters in assessing official statements
A wave of viral articles and social posts claimed Pretti had been fired from a non-VA facility (the fabricated “Lakeshore Medical Center”) after alleged misconduct; multiple fact-checks and mainstream outlets concluded those claims were false and based on a fabricated story from a fringe website [5] [6] [10] [1]. The contrast between the VA’s and AFGE’s straightforward identification of Pretti as a Minneapolis VA ICU nurse and the fabricated narratives illustrates how quickly misinformation can muddy public understanding of employment status after a high-profile death [1] [5].
4. Remaining limitations, implicit agendas, and why officials’ wording matters
Official statements from the VA and AFGE have been narrowly consistent in establishing employment status — they framed Pretti as an active Minneapolis VA ICU nurse and a union member — but reporting also shows institutional sensitivities: for example, VA leadership’s public tone and timing sparked criticism from veterans’ groups and colleagues, and the VA’s initial handling of a workplace memorial generated controversy, signaling internal caution about messaging in a politically charged case [9] [4]. The emergence of fabricated stories appears aimed at discrediting Pretti posthumously and shifting focus away from questions about federal agent conduct — an implicit agenda traceable to fringe sites and social amplification rather than to the VA or AFGE [5] [1]. Where source material does not contain verbatim full official press releases from the Minneapolis VA system beyond confirmations of employment, this account limits itself to what VA leaders, the VA secretary, AFGE leaders, and verifiable reporting have stated [1] [4] [2].