http://www.laborradio.org/node/12345Submitted by Doug Cunningham on November 11, 2009 - 4:03pm
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By Doug Cunningham
Mark Ayers, Chairman of the Union Veterans Council, says unemployment among veterans now exceeds 25 percent. The Veterans Council is calling on Congress to quickly extend unemployment benefits and combine it with an effort to strengthen and enforce the Uniformed Services Employment And Reemployment Rights Act. That law protects veterans by allowing them to claim their former jobs when they return from active duty. The Union Veterans Council says veterans need the assurance of satisfactory employment as they return to civil life. The Union Veterans Council also wants to see state and local job training and employment counseling programs for vets expanded. The council says it’s “dumbstruck” that Congress is considering cutting funding for the Helmets To Hardhats program – which places veterans in good construction jobs.