Veterans don’t need lip service. They need jobs. And so far, we haven’t seen any meaningful action coming from Washington. But a powerful ally is stepping up to fill the void: The Private Sector.
None of us need reminding that we’re in one of the worst economies in decades. More than 15 million Americans are jobless, and veterans are being hit even harder. Young veterans are facing 20% unemployment, a rate that has increased significantly from just 6.1% in 2007.
Veterans like Adam Bryant are being left out in the cold.
Adam deployed for a year to Afghanistan in 2008. While there, he managed million-dollar infrastructure projects, held a security clearance, and led his unit as a gunner on dangerous combat patrols. He also proved himself as an accomplished photographer and photojournalist.
Yet, when he got home, no one would hire him. Adam sent out dozens of resumes only to receive radio silence. The only interview he got was at The Cheesecake Factory where, after describing his military qualifications, he was discounted for lack of experience waiting tables.
Adam is just one of thousands of new veterans struggling to make the leap from military service to the civilian workforce. And still, Congress has failed to deliver.
Tim Geithner has come up short. The White House has yet to go into crisis mode to tackle this issue head on. And why was Wall Street reform a priority while creating jobs isn’t?
While Washington stands idle, the private sector has been revving up. From Microsoft to Walmart to Outback Steakhouse, enlightened companies are stepping up to hire veterans and connect them with the tools needed to succeed in the workforce.
Just today, JCPenney and JA Apparel, the makers of Joseph Abboud, became the latest American companies to help new vets make the transition from combat to career by kicking off a campaign to distribute $1 million in professional attire to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of vets will now be able to walk into interviews sporting a nice, new suit.
These companies get it. And more seem to be catching on. Unfortunately Washington isn’t.
What have they been focused on instead? Things like postage stamps and college tennis teams – as highlighted last month by Jon Stewart. And, instead of upgrading the new GI Bill to cover vocational training for young vets, Congress checked out early to save their own jobs. And the White House has seemed too concerned with getting Rahm Emanuel a new one in Chicago.
Taking a cue from the private sector, Washington must step up and deliver jobs and employment resources to the veterans’ community. If private companies get it, the White House and Congress must learn, too.
Crossposted at www.IAVA.org.
Follow Paul Rieckhoff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PaulRieckhoff
It's a shippy situation, for millions of people, not just current military veterans. And, with people talking about increasing minimum wage, forcing current employers to consider further staffing cutbacks, it's a situation that's not going to change, anytime soon.
Chances are, the gentleman being described in the story will stand a better chance of getting himself a job, if he gets back on an airplane. Other than that, though, even if unemployed, all he has to do is turn to the VA, and he'll be taken care of. Maybe not in the fashion to which he's become accustomed, but taken care of, nonetheless.
The stories of PTSD, depression, and suicides, as well as the risk of redeployment raise other barriers and will push businesses towards the lesser of two candidates. We soft civilians are not accustomed to structure and discipline, and are often cynical of the military attitude of "Yes Sir; Can do Sir." I hope the Hire Heroes program and others like it, will pay-off for those who pay for our freedom.
I agree with you. This concept is just too funny-sad-selfdeluding, too. I've known quite a few managers, executives, and Human Resources directors, whose repertoire of personnel management techniques were pretty much limited to one form of intimidation or another.
Good veterans understand concepts of teamwork, fair play, ethics, principles, etc. That is what really intimidates these folks.
One company I worked at decided to have a public ceremony thanking all of the employees who were veterans. The director of the call center canceled the ceremony when it turned out all of the "troublemakers" (e.g., those of us calling management out on breaking the rules and harassing those employees who did their job the right way) were military veterans. We were surreptitiously handed "certificates of appreciation" by a supervisor.
A lot of management types think that they can act like a caricature of military officers. When a manager starts barking out PR buzzwords as if they were Drill Instructors, it doesn't make them look tough or competent. It makes them look like what they are: petty tyrants with no clue.
Gathering in D.C. to mark the 9th anniversary of the beginning of the Afghan war, a small group of military veterans have launched a campaign to end the practice of sending traumatised troops back into the battlefield. http://www.newslook.com/videos/256346-us-veterans-concerned-over-war-trauma?autoplay=true
Seems like its just a few companies that are helping vets out. Can't really call that the private sector. And you kind of do a disservice to the companies that are helping by diluting the sentiment of their aid by calling it the private sector. How about a title ... (X and Y) "company have stepped up to help vets that need jobs, why is washington doing nothing?" That seems alot more appropriate and accurate.
I don't agree that compnaies like WalMart are truly interested in serving veterans as they are in ensuring that the military continues its role as corporate bodyguard. Offering training and sharp suits for interviews hardly addresses the fact that these businesses have been complicit in decimating the American work force.
If US corporations were interested in serving the country and the people that have paved the way for their dominance - they would continue to manufacture their products here, pay taxes that contribute to US stability and pay American workers a living wage and benefits that are conducive to a stable middle-class. This is all private-sector window dressing, lip service in lieu of attacking the underlying issues plaguing this country - corporate malfeasance.
We simply cannot keep building more and more weapons, and not protect and care for the men and women who risk their lives using them. There is something very wrong with our country's military industrial complex, and the way it continues to feed on itself.
The guy at the cheesecake factory with no table waiting experience...did he offer to demonstrate that he could handle the job? Or did he feel waiting tables was beneath him? Maybe he felt that new suit qualified him for a management position?
The Cheesecake Factory excuse is a transparent one. Companies are not looking for experienced workers in jobs such as waiting tables and other entry-level, hourly wage jobs. Experienced workers get paid more, and that affects profits.
Companies want people who will shut up and do what they are told, without question. They do not want people who can do their jobs competently, competent people earn promotions and that is a challenge to current management.
With an attitude like that it's no wonder you haven't been considered for a medium or high level position.
"None of us need reminding that we’re in one of the worst economies in decades. More than 15 million Americans are jobless, and veterans are being hit even harder. Young veterans are facing 20% unemployment, a rate that has nearly doubled from just 6.1% in 2007."
Ok, first of all, it does not take a statistics major to know that 6.1x2=12.2. I believe Paul meant to say the unemployment rate has tripled.
But accuracy aside, Paul's analysis is fairly disingenuous. Yes, it's true the unemployment rate among young veterans is higher than the national average, but it is still markedly better than the 25 percent unemployment rate recent college graduates face. The rate of unemployment among all veterans is on par with the national average. Let's at least be honest about the hardship everybody is facing and keep things in perspective. The rate of unemployment is high among young people and most vets of the most recent wars fall into that demographic. Veterans are not getting the shaft, they are just entering the job market at a very terrible time.
And further, what more do you want the government to do? We just learned that the gvt has slashed jobs, while the private sector is growing. If the rate among veterans is so disproportionately high — which it is not — then the private sector is just as much to blame as the government.