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COMPANIES HOPE TO REWARD VETERANS FOR A JOB WELL

DONE -- "I learned a lot of things in the military that make

me a very valuable employee - discipline, personal

responsibility, accountability."

 

 

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Companies hope to reward veterans for a job well done

By Joe Goldeen
Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON - For 20 months, electrician Dan Dorsa's field truck sat idle in a south Stockton lot with other vehicles.

His boss, Delta Pumps owner Tracy Miller, did not allow anyone to use the truck while Master Sgt. Dan Dorsa was on active duty with the California National Guard, including a year-plus deployment to Baghdad, Iraq.

Miller estimated Dorsa's absence cost his agricultural pump company $3,000 to $5,000 in overtime costs alone, but he has no complaints. Setting the truck aside was Miller's way of showing his respect for Dorsa.

Employers such as Miller make serving the nation during a time of war possible. He said he'd do it all again. It's just one of the veterans benefits the country has come to take for granted.

Still, Dorsa is one of the lucky ones.

Getting a job right out of the service can prove daunting for some veterans, many of whom have never worked outside the military. But some companies have dedicated resources to helping and hiring those veterans.

Union Pacific, a national transportation company that operates a busy rail-freight terminal in Lathrop, was named the No. 1 "military friendly employer" for 2006 by G.I. Jobs magazine.

About 20 percent of its work force are military veterans, and 130 current employees are serving the country on active duty through the Reserves and National Guard, a spokesman for the Omaha, Neb.-based company said. Some 325 employees already have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and returned to work.

"Veterans bring a level of experience that strongly reflects a great deal of the skill sets that we need. They're accustomed to working outdoors, understanding strong safety practices, and they don't mind shift work and relocating," Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said.

Military veterans Derek Muller and Glenn Tillett are two members of the current training class at Union Pacific's Stockton yard.

"It's definitely hard coming out into civilian life, finding a job with the benefits to help support a family," said Muller, 22, a Modesto-area native whose wife, Maria, is pregnant with their second child.

He joined the Marine Corps right out of high school and was discharged July 5 following two deployments as an artilleryman to Fallujah and the Syrian border in Iraq.

Tillett, 43, a former Navy chief petty officer who enlisted right out of high school 24 years ago, grew up in Larkspur.

He was a quartermaster dealing with ship navigation, and his tours included time in Southwest Asia during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Desert Storm.

After taking a little time for fishing and golfing, he was "looking for a job with good benefits going on, something I could enjoy and do for another 30 years to retire with a second pension."

Both veterans initiated the hiring process over the Internet about six months ago, and both focused on Union Pacific because of its high rating from G.I. Jobs.

"I learned a lot of things in the military that make me a very valuable employee - discipline, personal responsibility, accountability," Tillett said.

His Union Pacific instructor, Jeff Nelson, agreed that veterans make good employees.

"Military veterans tend to do better in the training classes. They're more disciplined and used to structured livelihood. And they listen better," Nelson said.

 

Friendly to Vets

Several nationwide companies with a local presence are among G.I. Jobs magazine's top 50 military-friendly employers. That means they give some preference to veterans, have assets dedicated to military hiring and have policies for active-duty Reserve and National Guard service. The companies on the list with local ties are:

• Union Pacific

• The Home Depot

• BNSF Railroad

• Sears Holdings (Sears, Kmart, Orchard Supply Hardware)

• J.B. Hunt Transport

• Cintas

• Sprint Nextel

• Georgia-Pacific

• Schneider National

• Brinks

• State Farm

• American Express

• 7-Eleven

• Bank of America

• Allstate Insurance Co.

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Larry Scott  --