ATA Pledges Members Will Hire 100,000 Veterans Over Two Years
American Trucking Associations pledged that its members will hire 100,000 military veterans over the next two years.
ATA’s hiring effort is part of the U.S. 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,” ATA President Bill Graves said at a press conference.
ATA Chairman Duane Long, chairman of Longistics, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, said “It is rare in business and in life to find an opportunity that is a win-win for all involved.”
That’s what Hiring Our Heroes is, Long said, a win for veterans returning 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.”
ATA has estimated that the industry will need to fill almost 1 million driver jobs in the coming decade.
Eric Eversole, vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and executive director of Hiring Our Heroes, said ATA’s commitment set a “tremendous example” for other business sectors.
Scott Darling, acting director of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said at the press conference that the agency would consider a proposal from ATA that could help smooth the way for veterans to become truck drivers by allowing states to administer the written knowledge exam for commercial learner’s permits to out-of-state drivers.
As it is, states give the tests only to prospective drivers living within the state.
Darling said FMCSA understands how “extremely important” drivers are to the bus and trucking industries.
“Good drivers make a world of difference every day in keeping our roadways safe and literally moving forward the economy of this country,” he said. “Many returning vets have extensive experience operating trucks and buses.”
One out of every four of the 1,100 employees at FMCSA is a veteran, Darling added. “Every day, I see their contributions in my agency.”
Alphonso Lewis, a professional driver with YRC Freight and an America’s Road Team Captain, attended the press conference, where he spoke from experience.
“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,” Lewis said.
“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,” he added.
Lewis and other speakers emphasized that the industry is about more than just drivers and that there is a need for various workers, from the management ranks to mechanics.
"Hire our heroes." @AmericaRoadTeam Captain, @YRCFreightLTL driver and US Army #veteran Alphonso Lewis. pic.twitter.com/8FkFTk6UJE
— American Trucking (@TRUCKINGdotORG) December 2, 2014
