Love the vets? Do your part. Be a pest.
Well ... don't be a pest, but do consider the following grassroots action. Remember, the good Lord helps those who help themselves. What I do when I think about it and have a few extra moments is browse through the local Sunday "Help Wanted" section, searching for companies large enough to have received federal contracts but who don't place the M/F/D/V in their recruitment advertising and who do include an e-mail or website address for resumes. I then send the following (Actually I send the whole page from that hyperlink, but I don't want to republish it here.) along under the Subject heading: Human Resources -- VEVRAA of 1974 -- A Reminder. Of those who respond, most recruiters are happy to receive the information, or at least say they are happy to receive the information. There are a few who are unhappy about receiving the information. C'est la guerre. It's the law.
M/F/D??? M/F/D/V!!!
Male/Female/Disabled/VETERAN
Pardon the interruption, but I need a few minutes of your time. Is your human resource department actively recruiting veterans? Does your business receive more than $25,000 annually from the federal government, including for example advertising placed by military recruiter, any invoices paid by government check, insurance payments or purchases made by government credit card?Male/Female/Disabled/VETERAN
Because of the youth and inexperience of many of the human resource personnel today, many have forgotten their obligations under the Vietnam-Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 and the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998. Any entity which receives more than $25,000 annually in federal funds must affirmatively reach out to recruit, interview, hire, train and promote all Vietnam-era veterans and other veterans covered by the act, and be able to show documented proof of those efforts (VETS-100) when required.
Please review your internal policies and employment recruitment advertisements to ensure they conform to the requirements of this law.
I, personally, am not interested in a position with your institution as this time, but I am a Vietnam-era veteran who has noticed that many employers are forgetting those who served when asked, answered when called. Your company may or may not be one of those institutions. The following information is provided as a reminder of the law. Thank you for your time and assistance!
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/cfr/41cfr/toc_Chapt60/60_250.htm
60-250.6 - Affirmative action policy, practices and procedures.
Standard Number: 60-250.6
Standard Title: Affirmative action policy, practices and procedures.
SubPart Number: A
SubPart Title: Preliminary Matters, Affirmative Action Clause,
Compliance
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(a) General requirements. Under the affirmative action obligation imposed by the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, contractors are required to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam era at all levels of employment, including the executive level. Such action shall apply to all employment practices, including, but not limited to, the following: hiring, upgrading, demotion or transfer, recruitment or recruitment advertising, layoff or termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, and selection for training, including apprenticeship and on-the-job training programs under 38 U.S.C. 1787.
[UPDATE: 3/16/2005 -- Dropped by my local labor office yesterday. While they still have no postings of the VEVRAA of 1974 or the VEOA of 1998 there were some brochures available specifically for veterans. And, the best news, the state labor department is holding a veteran's only employment job fair at the end of the month. A preliminary list of businesses recruiting at that job fair include businesses that I e-mailed the above information to. I'm not going to claim success here but it's nice to see that these efforts may have paid off!]
posted by NEWS4A2, blood-sucking journalist @ 15:48
2 comments
2 Comments:
Good work! Those employers are not "forgetful," however, they just don't want you. But because it would be bad PR to admit this aloud, they simply instruct their HR people to ignore you or feign ignorance of the law. The seminars they attend to learn about implementing affirmative action for the more obvious protected groups either avoid the VEVRAA requirements or actually instruct them in avoidance techniques.
Employers need to feel in control of employees, even beyond the obvious work at hand. They need to be in a constant superior position, like dogs in a pack. They do not want to expose themselves to unfavorable comparison with their subordinates. They don't want some guy who's been to war interposed between them and the office hotties. It's all about shame and fear of exposure. That's why the stereotype crazy/lazy/stupid veteran is so helpful in preempting public interest in the matter. I think a lot of the drive to make money in America is simply an attempt to smother the guilt of not having served, since wealth isn't improving the quality of our culture.
Thanks for stopping by and for the support! And thanks for your service. Welcome home.
You're right. Some employers want federal money but don't want vets. Viacom, owner of CBS is just one of many such examples. LSU is another. I've turned and walked from complaining about such behavior before, but I'm not going to do it anymore. I've drawn my line in the sand. I hope you do too. We, all of us, owe it to the men and women who died in defense of the country, and we owe our support to every veteran who wants a good paying job and can't find one. There is a procedure to follow listed on that Department of Labor website. If you've spent time in the military, you know all about paperwork. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance is the enforcement agency. If they find a recipient of a federal contract isn't following the law, they can and will yank the contract.
A lot of this is grassroots. I find people really don't know about the discrimination veterans -- young and old alike -- have been facing in the job market. If we don't tell them, who will? No one is going to carry water for the veteran cause except a veteran. You'd take a bullet for freedom; will you file paper and write letters to politicians, employers, and the press? Will you vote? Will pass this hyperlink and will you organize other veterans to do likewise? That's what needed. We can let them have the hill and bitch about the fact they took it ... or we can take it back.
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