Honor and celebrate veterans by taking action

Make sure you and your union participate in ‘Operation Union Veterans Day’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This Thursday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. In the labor movement, it’s a day we join together to remember and celebrate union veterans and their families for their past and current service to our country. This year for the first time, the Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO is launching “Operation Union Veterans Day” and the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is urging all of its affiliated unions to participate.

“Like all workers, one of the greatest challenges facing veterans and transitioning service members is financial instability,” said WSLC President and U.S. Navy veteran Larry Brown. “Unions can and do play a critical role in helping those who have served our country find stable jobs with fair wages so they can support their families and live with dignity. That’s why the Washington State Labor Council is urging all of its affiliated unions to participate in Operation Union Veterans Day. Let’s lift up the stories of union veterans and help all veterans have access to training, good jobs, a fully funded VA, and the right to join a union.”

Here’s what you and your union can do to participate:

Join Thursday’s virtual event — On Thursday at 9 a.m. Pacific time, the Union Veterans Council will host a virtual event to launch the campaign. Operation Union Veterans Day will amplify the role veterans and military families play in the American labor movement throughout November, along with cataloging the Veterans Day activities many unions on a national, regional, and local level are already executing. Join AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, UMWA President Cecil Roberts, James Rodriguez of the Department of Labor’s VETS program, and Union Veterans Council Executive Director Will Attig for this virtual event. Click here to RSVP.

Join the Union Veterans Council — The Union Veterans Council brings working-class veterans together to speak out on the issues that impact them most, especially the need for good jobs and a strong, fully funded and staffed VA. Additionally, the council holds private enterprise and elected officials accountable for their words and actions. The Union Veterans Council believes that the ability for someone to self-identify as “pro-veteran” isn’t determined by what lapel pin they wear or what catchphrase they employ; veterans face real issues that require real actions — constructive actions that lead to positive solutions, like passing the PRO Act to restore the freed. If you are a veteran or there is a veteran in your household, please become a member today. Also follow the UVC on Facebook and Twitter.

Share your events — If your union or your union’s veterans committee has an event or action planned on Veterans Day or later in November, please click here to share the details.

Share your story — If you are a union veteran, share your story about what being in a union means to you. Click here to record a brief video sharing your story, like union veteran Keith Weir of IBEW Local 46 in Seattle has.

Share resources for veterans — The Union Veterans Council shares resources with veterans to help them find family-wage union employment, to understand their rights, and manage their finances. Here are some examples of those resources that you can share with veterans in your family or that you know:

Career Opportunities

Helmets to Hardhats
Painters and Allied Trades Veterans Program
The United Association’s Veterans in Piping
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service

Know Your Rights

Veterans’ Preference Advisor – Dept. of Labor
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) – Dept. of Labor
GI Bill – Veterans Administration

Protect Your Finances

Consumer Financial Protect Bureau’s Office of Servicemember Affairs (OSA) provides educational resources, monitors complaints, and works with other agencies to solve problems faced by servicemembers.

Let’s celebrate the people who’ve served in the U.S. military with more than just words. Let’s take action by helping them find good jobs and support their families. Make sure you and your union participate in Operation Union Veterans Day.