Veterans Employment

Officials for the Employment Development Department are encouraging businesses this week to recruit former members of the military as part of the statewide Hire-a-Veteran Week. "They're disciplined and they approach the job the right way because of their prior background," said James L. Lindsay, a veterans employment representative. "They're skilled, they're dedicated." At the EDD, veterans receive priority for services, including referrals for jobs and training, counseling and testing.

The unemployment rate for veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq era remains stubbornly higher than for the general population -- and far higher for veterans 24 and younger. So-called "post-9/11" veterans had an unemployment rate of 12.1% in 2011, according to the latest survey , released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That compares with the overall U.S. unemployment rate of 8.3%. In 2010, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 11.5%. For male veterans younger than 24, the jobless rate is 29.1%, considerably higher than the 17.6% rate for non-veteran males in the same age group.

"Hire a Veteran Week," when the state Employment Development Department urges area employers to hire former members of the military, will begin next week. James S. Lindsay, a veterans employment representative with the Santa Ana EDD office, said that veterans nationwide have a 3.2% unemployment rate, compared with 5.6% for the general population. Still, Lindsay said the week is aimed at informing employers that veterans have valuable skills because of their time in the military.

Michael Butcher has applied for at least 25 jobs since injuries he suffered in Iraq forced him to leave the Army three years ago. "I was even turned down by McDonald's," said the 29-year-old San Diego native. The military is known for developing leadership, adaptability, loyalty and teamwork. But Butcher said when he tells employers he needs time off to see therapists for post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury, they don't call back. "They think you are mental," he said.

Michael Butcher has applied for at least 25 jobs since injuries he suffered in Iraq forced him to leave the Army three years ago. "I was even turned down by McDonald's," said the 29-year-old San Diego native. The military is known for developing leadership, adaptability, loyalty and teamwork. But Butcher said when he tells employers he needs time off to see therapists for post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury, they don't call back. "They think you are mental," he said.

The city's Human Resources Department recently received two awards for its employment and support of veterans who are city employees. The state Employment Development Department honored the city for its "outstanding support in hiring veterans," and the Orange County Veterans Employment Council named Anaheim Employer of the Year at a veterans job fair earlier this month.

Some local organizations are promoting the idea that it's good for the economy to hire military veterans or encourage them to start businesses. One such group is the Orange County Chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, which has been training military personnel who are about to reenter the private sector. The organization has been holding workshops at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which is due to close next year.

When the 10 military reservists who usually work at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center return from Gulf War duty, they will be met with a warm welcome--and a bit of uncertainty. "We are all very new to this," said Tom Miller, the hospital's compensation and benefits director. "We have not sat down to strategize what to do when they get back from the war environment."

President Bush urged government agencies and private sector employers on Friday to "do everything possible" to ease the return to civilian life of reservists and members of the National Guard who served on active duty during the Persian Gulf War. Under federal law, the returning soldiers are entitled to the jobs they left when called up for military service, or to equivalent positions.

Danny Garcia came home to East Los Angeles from Vietnam in 1968 with a Purple Heart and a burning desire to be a cop, only to be told that at 5 feet, 3 inches he was too short for the Los Angeles Police Department. "I made a joke out of it," he said. "I asked them if they needed anybody to check flat tires. But it really hurt." He found other work: electrician, liquor salesman, Red Cross.

Venting their frustration with the U.S. Department of Labor's alleged failure to enforce affirmative action laws on the waterfront, a group of disabled workers and military veterans asked Friday that a judge halt millions of dollars in government contracts to shipping companies in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Some local organizations are promoting the idea that it's good for the economy to hire military veterans or encourage them to start businesses. One such group is the Orange County Chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, which has been training military personnel who are about to reenter the private sector. The organization has been holding workshops at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which is due to close next year.

Qudusam Sile was only 15 when she fired an AK-47 assault rifle for the first time. The tiny, ponytailed Eritrean was not much older when she killed the first of a dozen Ethiopian troops. During Africa's longest war of independence, Sile in turn took bullets in the back, leg and hand. "I was willing to do anything, to kill and even to die, to free Eritrea," she said with neither bravado nor guilt.

"An injury to one is an injury to all." For years that classic expression of worker solidarity was well-known to the rank and file at Local 13 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. It was emblazoned on the hats and jackets members wore to work in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It topped the letterhead of their union bulletins and was inscribed on a plaque at Local 13's business hall in Wilmington.

"Hire a Veteran Week," when the state Employment Development Department urges area employers to hire former members of the military, will begin next week. James S. Lindsay, a veterans employment representative with the Santa Ana EDD office, said that veterans nationwide have a 3.2% unemployment rate, compared with 5.6% for the general population. Still, Lindsay said the week is aimed at informing employers that veterans have valuable skills because of their time in the military.

Officials for the Employment Development Department are encouraging businesses this week to recruit former members of the military as part of the statewide Hire-a-Veteran Week. "They're disciplined and they approach the job the right way because of their prior background," said James L. Lindsay, a veterans employment representative. "They're skilled, they're dedicated." At the EDD, veterans receive priority for services, including referrals for jobs and training, counseling and testing.

An Army reservist said Friday that he rejects an apology from an aerospace company that fired him when he left his job to serve in the Persian Gulf War and intends to pursue a lawsuit he has filed against his former employer. Maj. Stephen McConnell returned home earlier this month with a Bronze Star after serving nearly nine months in Saudi Arabia. He was away on vacation with his family when the New York headquarters of Loral Corp.

"An injury to one is an injury to all." For years that classic expression of worker solidarity was well-known to the rank and file at Local 13 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. It was emblazoned on the hats and jackets members wore to work in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It topped the letterhead of their union bulletins and was inscribed on a plaque at Local 13's business hall in Wilmington.

A "very favorable response" has been received from Ventura County employers regarding a new on-the-job training program for recently discharged veterans, reports Avelina Villalobos, manager of the Oxnard office of the state Employment Development Department. The federally funded program will offer companies up to $12,000 reimbursement for hiring and retraining each veteran who was separated from service after Aug. 2, 1990.

With his dark glasses masking eyes that cannot see, Burt Burden worked methodically on a stack of flyers, folding them and carefully placing them in a box in front of him at the Veterans Charity of Orange County. The 46-year-old Santa Ana man, who was seated at a long table with a dozen other men performing the same task, is one of about 25 disabled veterans who work daily for the Santa Ana-based nonprofit agency at 201 S. Sullivan St. Many of them cannot get work elsewhere.