Published 9/28/2007

Local chamber takes the lead on military employment initiative

by Beckye Randall

The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce is heading a growing coalition to encourage local employers to hire military family members.

The Military Family-Friendly Employment Partnership Initiative will help military spouses and dependents achieve fulfilling employment goals while providing local businesses access to a readily available, diverse and talented pool of job candidates.

Some military dependents have experienced frustration in finding meaningful work due to employers’ reluctance to hire and train employees who are likely to move. Sponsors of the Chamber initiative hope to educate local employers about the benefits of hiring military family members while busting myths about perceived problems.

Melissa West of the Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee knows firsthand about the financial hardships facing military families.

While her husband served in the Air Force, West searched for jobs that would make full use of her degrees in marketing and psychology. Instead, she found herself digging ditches and installing sprinkler systems for a landscape contractor.

Her experience is not unique. Military spouses with teaching certificates and excellent credentials find they’re only offered substitute teaching jobs. Resumes from highly qualified military dependents produce no responses when they’re sent from a base address. Promotions and raises are withheld because the employee is considered “temporary.”

This argument may be outdated since statistics show the average employee only stays with a company for three to four years. The workforce as a whole is more mobile these days, and experts warn the available talent pool is shrinking.

In Washington State, the unemployment rate is inching downward, with just over 4% unemployment in the state. The relatively small number of job seekers makes recruitment and retention even more difficult for local employers.

Caldie Rogers, president and CEO of the Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, researched the military employment issue after she heard about the disheartening experience a good friend (and military wife) faced when seeking employment.

“I researched the question of hiring discrimination,” said Rogers, “but learned that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) only protects civilian jobs and career tracks of service members, not their families.”

After speaking with top Navy commanders, Rogers learned that the hiring bias is one of the top concerns facing the Armed Forces, and that the extent of the problem has expanded since 9/11 to include the families of Reservists as well. The facts convinced her to push for the formation of a Military Affairs Committee in the Chamber and to focus her efforts on improving employment opportunities for military families in our area.

West wants employers to get the message that military family members can “answer your phones, sell your product and reduce your paperwork,” but that’s only the beginning. A military family that’s more financially stable, thanks to a spouse’s income, helps support the local economy as well. Knowing their families back home are not making financial sacrifices also allows deployed servicemen to focus on the critical job they must perform.

Employers are being asked to sign a non-binding partnership agreement affirming their support of hiring military family members. Several cities in the county have already passed resolutions in support of the Military Family-Friendly Employment Partnership Initiative, including Marysville, Edmonds and Lynnwood.

Some local employers already enthusiastically recruit military family members and Reservists. Dave Walters, manager of the Marysville Best Buy store, indicated that the electronics chain offers military leave, nationwide job matching and flexible schedules that work well for military families. Costco aggressively protects the job and career track of deployed members of the military, according to Marysville merchandise manager John Dominguez, and actively supports the hiring of military family members.

For more information on the Chamber of Commerce’s Military Family Friendly Employment Partnership Initiative, phone (360) 659-7700 or e-mail services@MarysvilleTulalipChamber.com.

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