Politics
Michelle Obama announces plans to hire vets, families
Assuring military veterans that “America has your back,” first lady Michelle Obama (pictured), announced commitments from companies Thursday to hire 100,000 veterans and military spouses by 2014.
“That’s 100,000 veterans and spouses who will have the security of a paycheck and good career,” Mrs. Obama said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “That’s thousands of families that can rest just a little bit easier every night.”
The first lady and the vice president’s wife, Jill Biden, launched their Joining Forces initiative in April to try to motivate citizens, businesses, nonprofits and community groups to do more to support military families.
It has resulted in the hiring of 16,000 veterans and spouses, and pledges to hire an additional 25,000.
Thursday’s announcement of 100,000 additional job commitments for military families includes plans to hire at least 5,000 wounded veterans.
At the same time, the first lady announced an online Veterans Job Bank tool to help veterans and spouses search for jobs with military-friendly employers. The tool has identified 550,000 job postings.
Mrs. Obama said the new efforts are “part of a wave of support forming that stretches across this country.”
She spoke at a conference on hiring veterans that was organized by the Chamber.
The group has had a prickly relationship with the Obama White House, differing over policies on job creation, taxes and regulation. The first lady got a polite but reserved reception from the audience in the partially filled auditorium.
More than a dozen veterans who’ve been hired through Chamber of Commerce hiring fairs for veterans were on hand. They included 33-year-old Dwayne Simmons, who said he had an “interview-to-hire moment” at a hiring fair two weeks ago and is bound for the Sam’s Club manager training program in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Purple Heart recipient just wound up 15 years in the Army, including five tours in Iraq.
