Transport America recognized one of their drivers and military veteran, Robert Harp, on Veterans Day with a custom military truck wrap.A number of trucking companies honored their military veteran drivers with events and even pay increases for Veterans Day last week.
Baylor Trucking announced it was giving its military veteran employees pay boosts as a “thank you” for their service.
Ryder, which launched its military recruiting program five years ago, says has hired 4,480 veterans and increased the percentage of veterans in its workforce by more than 10 percent.
Ryder joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes program in November 2011 and has held numerous veteran hiring initiatives since to help ease the transition of veterans to civilian life.
Additionally, Ryder says it graduated its first class of veteran diesel technician students last month after a 12-week program in partnership with the Soldier for Life – Transition Assistance Program. Earlier this year, the company also donated $30,000 to give female veterans priority to Veterans at Work: Military Transition Fund awards.
Transport America and Werner also held events for its veteran drivers. Transport America, a subsidiary of TransForce (No. 7 on the CCJ Top 250), announced it has been approved by the Department of Labor and the Veterans Administration to offer an apprenticeship program to military veterans.
The company says veterans in the program will go through specific training for a year to become a driver instructor and ultimately a student driver instructor. The veterans can use the GI Bill to get additional pay for their increased skill level as well.
Additionally, Transport America held an event on Veterans Day in which it gave one of its veteran drivers, Robert Harp, a custom military truck wrap. Harp has been with Transport America since 1998 and has driven more than 2 million miles accident free. He also won the company’s Driver of the Year award in 2015.
Werner Enterprises (No. 11) also held Veterans Day events at several of its terminals, including its Omaha, Neb., headquarters and its Phoenix, Ariz., and Fontana, Calif., terminals. During the events, the company offered free lunch to its veteran employees.
Werner, who also participates in an apprenticeship program for military veterans, says more than 5,000 veterans have enrolled in the program since it began in 2006 and adds that the company has hired more than 25,000 veterans and veteran spouses.
The American Trucking Associations also released a statement thanking military veterans, both in the trucking industry and outside of it.
“In our armed forces, our service men and women routinely display character, commitment and other qualities our members tell us they look for when they are hiring drivers, technicians and other staff,” Spear said. “And now, new rules are in place that allow veterans with driving experience in the service to waive the licensing skills test to obtain a civilian commercial driver’s license and to take CDL tests where they’re stationed, rather than in their home state, all making the process of becoming a driver far simpler.”
