Says returning military veterans among those hit hardest by unemployment

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — With more veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan and the state’s unemployment rate still stubbornly high this Memorial Day, Auditor General Jack Wagner renewed his call for the Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission to increase enforcement of veterans’ preference provisions in the filling of state jobs.

“It’s imperative that the civil service commission faithfully execute state and federal laws and give these patriot Americans the preference in hiring that they have earned through service to their country,” said Wagner, a former U.S. Marine who received a Purple Heart for wounds received in Vietnam. “The unemployment rate for military veterans is higher than that for the general population, both nationally and in Pennsylvania. It’s unconscionable that our state government would turn its back on these brave men and women who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms – especially at a time when Pennsylvania is enduring its toughest economic condition in at least a generation.”

Wagner issued an audit in November 2008 that found the Civil Service Commission was lax in requiring state agencies to give preference to veterans in filling job vacancies. The audit recommended that the commission take steps to require state agencies to consider veterans when filling all job vacancies.

Civil Service Commission executive director, Jeffrey Wallace, recently sent a letter to Wagner, saying that the commission had rejected the auditor general’s recommendation.

“The Civil Service Commission’s position is both wrong and incomprehensible,” Wagner said. “By requiring state agencies to obey the law and consider eligible veterans when filling job vacancies, the Civil Service Commission would simply be giving veterans the opportunity for employment that they have earned through military service and as competent qualified applicants.”

Authority for the Veterans’ Preference Program in Pennsylvania is provided by the Military Affairs Act of 1975 and the Pennsylvania Civil Service Law.  The program provides that veterans who pass the civil service exam receive 10 additional points on their civil service exam scores and have mandatory hiring preference for civil service employment positions, if the veteran has one of the three highest exam scores for the position being considered. There is no reason why military veterans are not receiving the employment opportunities that they have earned and that state law requires the State Civil Service Commission to recognize, Wagner said.

Wagner initiated his audit after receiving a complaint from a veteran, which alleged that the commonwealth had not been applying veterans’ preference in its employment decisions or had been applying the preference in an unsatisfactory manner. Read More »

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In the midst of the great recession, a depressed job market is hitting veterans particularly hard. Unemployment numbers for all veterans continues to hover near 12 percent, but for service members who left the military in the past three years unemployment is 18 percent, nearly twice the national average.

“The way we treat our veterans when they return home is an indication of our national character,” said J. David Cox, AFGE national secretary-treasurer, who was a registered nurse in the VA for over 20 years prior to being elected to the union’s executive leadership. “These brave men and women volunteered, served valiantly, and have to come home to stand in the unemployment line. There is something very wrong with that.”

The high unemployment rate of returning service members has not escaped the attention of the White House. On Nov. 9, President Obama issued an executive order aimed at enhancing the recruitment and promotion of employment opportunities for veterans. The order established a multi-agency “Council on Veterans Employment” and is supposed to develop a strategic plan on how to recruit and employ veterans for federal civilian service. According to the union, however, any plan developed by the Council should address the systemic risk to federal civilian employment of veterans posed by the expanded use of for-profit contractors. Ironically, the VA – the agency that strives to be the model employer of veterans — has contracted out more jobs held by veterans than most other agencies. Read More »

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The newly instituted Post 9/11 GI Bill promises to afford thousands of recently returned U.S. military veterans the benefits of much-deserved higher education, but some students say late payments by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are putting an undue strain on their finances.

While pleased with the much-improved educational benefit, some veteran students are concerned that a delay in payments from VA may cause them to suffer deeper personal debt while struggling to cover unpaid bills. A number of student veterans have been forced to take out loans or seek extra employment to meet school expenses while they wait for overdue GI Bill benefit checks to arrive.

“The American Legion sympathizes with these overburdened students,” says Clarence E. Hill, national commander of the nation’s largest veterans’ service organization. “These veterans of our current conflicts deserve to be able to concentrate wholly on their studies and not worry about how to pay for the schooling they have earned.

“It is our hope that by working together, VA and the universities can develop a plan that will not deny an eligible veterans the opportunity to attend classes while waiting for the arrival of the VA benefits,” continued Hill. “We urge the institutions of higher learning to grant financial leniency to their student veterans while the VA works to reduce the time it takes to process educational payments. After all, it is a virtual certainty that VA will issue the checks that are owed to our eligible veterans attending college. It’s just a matter of time. Read More »

(Subject to Change)

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is being issued by American Legion:

Saturday, Aug. 22

11:00 a.m. Veterans Job & Benefits Fair: Galt House Exhibit Hall, 2nd Floor (until 4:00 p.m.)

(Open to ALL military veterans)

8:00 a.m. Color Guard Competition: Convention Center, Hall 2D, Level 2 – Until 11:00 a.m.

1:00 p.m. American Legion Band Competition: Convention Center, Cascade Ballroom, Level 1

Both events provide great photo and sound opportunities.

National Security — Foreign Relations: Convention Center, Level 2, Rooms 210 & 211

1st Floor

9:15 a.m. U.S. Army Soldier Panel

10:00 a.m. Stephen T. Ganyard, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Plans, Programs and Operations, Political-Military Affairs

10:45 a.m. Col. Felix L. Santiago, Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation

11:15 a.m. Bron R. Mogenis, Dept. of Homeland Security/FBI – Counterterrorism

Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation: Convention Center, Level 2, Room 209

8:45 a.m. Philip Longman, Author: Best Care Anywhere — Why VA Healthcare is Better Than Yours

9:15 a.m. Laura Balun, Director, voluntary Service Office, Dept. of Veterans Affairs

9:45 a.m. John Wordin, Executive Director, Ride to Recovery

10:15 a.m. Mike Dusenbury, Southern Area Director, Dept. of Veterans Affairs

10:45 a.m. Dr. Jan E. Kemp and Michelle Cartagena, VA National Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Canandaigua VAMC, Dept. of Veterans Affairs Read More »

With the recent intelligence assessment issued by the Department of Homeland Security, [AP Story] that was given to law enforcement agencies as guidance on possible security threats, has military veterans pinned as right-wingers who could be susceptible to ‘extremist recruiting’ or ‘commit lone acts of violence’.

How will this affect Veterans?
With military veterans coming home from active duty, they will be looking for work. Many seek employment with the federal government. This is where Veterans’ Preference comes in. With up to 10 additional points added to civil service tests, veterans have a significantly higher chance of being hired into an entry-level government position than non-veterans. This includes positions that require security clearances like the FBI, Border Patrol, DHS, etc. So, if Veterans’ Preference is properly enforced, these veterans can move ahead of other applicants that may have been more desired.

The assessment could certainly cloud a veteran’s chance of gaining employment as they are tagged as ’susceptible’ hindering their chances of obtaining a security clearance based on this assessment.

Note: Ex. – If a service member holds a top secret clearance in a foreign country and marries a foreign national, chances are they may lose this clearance.

This assessment for some reason does not mention foreigners who come from terrorist countries or ethnically-based 9/11 related terrorists. They base some info on the one, Timothy McVeigh, who was White.

Radio talk-show host, Michael Savage, is suing DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder over this assessment
-JT
orig. pub. 04/17/09
edit:04/19/09 02:19