Friday, July 1, at the headquarters of U.S. Xpress in Chattanooga, Tenn., military members, U.S. Xpress drivers and employees and numerous other dignitaries gathered for the unveiling of the company’s new military-veteran hiring initiative.
“We’re really excited to be officially kicking off,” said U.S. Xpress President and COO Eric Fuller. The hiring initiative is aimed not only at bringing ex-military people into truck-driving careers but also into roles as “diesel mechanics and office employees,” Fuller added. “We think this is really important” as a service to the nation — “a no-brainer, really, and it’s the right thing to do.”
Tom Bullock, with the Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve unit, noted the importance of the mission of his unit and its employer partners. Bullock offered himself as an example — he was drafted into the Air Force in 1966 right out of high school. He served four years, emerging an overly mature 21-year-old but without a college degree to help him in the job market. Of ESGR partner employers like U.S. Xpress, he said, “They are supplying the Tom Bullocks of the world a chance at a career.”
In this program, he added, recent “military veterans with be credited with two years of experience,” worth in the neighborhood of 6-8 cents per mile.
