The American Trucking Associations announced December 2 that it was committing on behalf of the trucking industry and its members to hire 100,000 veterans as part of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring 500,000 Heroes campaign.
“There’s no higher calling for an American than to serve in our armed forces, and I’d like to think that driving a truck--delivering America’s most essential goods safely and efficiently--is also a high calling,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “That’s why we’re so proud to be partnering with Hiring Our Heroes and committing on behalf of the trucking industry to hire 100,000 veterans over the next two years.”
Hiring Our Heroes launched in March 2011 as a nationwide initiative to help veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment. Working with the US Chamber of Commerce’s vast network of state and local chambers and other strategic partners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors, the goal is to create a movement across America in hundreds of communities where veterans and military families return every day.
Since the Hiring 500,000 Heroes initiative with Capital One was launched in March of 2012, more than 1,700 companies have committed to hire 585,000 veterans and military spouses. To date, there have been 369,000 confirmed hires.
“It is rare in business and in life to find an opportunity that is a win-win for all involved, but that’s what Hiring Our Heroes is--a win for those veterans returning from service looking to transition to civilian life and a win for the trucking industry which is desperate to find dedicated, hard-working, and safety-minded people to fill many thousands of open positions as drivers or technicians,” said Duane Long, ATA chairman and chairman of Longistics, Raleigh NC.
Alphonso Lewis, a professional driver with YRC Freight and an America’s Road Team Captain,: “As a veteran and a professional truck driver, I know that my fellow service members have what it takes--and what fleets are looking for--to safely move America’s freight. Driving a truck has been a tremendously rewarding career for me after my service ended, and I know that there are thousands of potential drivers in our military just looking for the opportunity.”
Eric Eversole, vice-president at the US Chamber of Commerce and executive director of Hiring Our Heroes, said: “A strong trucking industry is critical to the growth of our country and our economy. ATA’s pledge to hire and support 100,000 veterans sets a tremendous example for others to follow.”
ATA and Hiring Our Heroes will use FASTPORT’s trucking track system as a single portal to help match veterans with fleets with openings.