Letters: Hiring veterans
Re “Vets struggle to go from war to work,” April 26
Veterans are a minority group representing about 8% of our nation’s population, selflessly serving on behalf of the other 92%. They pledged their lives to defend our Constitution, which protects the many freedoms we take for granted. Some delivered on that pledge, while many are disabled for life from their military injuries.
AMVETS, a national veterans organization, proposed a federal law to include veterans as a protected class against employment discrimination that currently includes race, age, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. No member of Congress agreed to sponsor this legislation, yet it is Congress that votes to fund the wars that send these men and women into harm’s way.
We have free elections because our military defends this right, so let’s exercise our right to vote and send current members of Congress to join veterans in the unemployment line.
Robert L. Rosebrock
Brentwood
I was struck by the irony of your front-page story on veterans struggling to convince employers of their talents and abilities, while the same day’s paper carried a story about how James Schoeffler of the U.S. Forest Service probably saved children and others from tragic injury — even death — by using skills he gained while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. How fortunate that he was given a chance at employment.
When will we wake up and give veterans a fair chance in a job market where they have a great deal to offer?
Elizabeth C. Libbey
Los Angeles
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