The best Veterans Day honor anyone can provide a returning veteran is a good job. Here’s the story of Helmets to Hardhats doing just that.

James Gilbert is director of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council.

Whether they served on the beaches of Normandy, the rivers of Southeast Asia or the deserts of the Middle East, Nov. 11 is the day we honor our country's veterans. Originally proclaimed a holiday by President Wilson in 1919, Nov. 11 was chosen because major hostilities of WWI were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with Germany signing the Armistice. 

U.S. military veterans severely criticized Mitt Romney today for supporting laws limiting the right of residents to vote in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Republican-controlled legislatures recently enacted new voting laws. In a press conference this morning, the veterans also took Romney to task for accusing President Obama of suppressing the vote of military veterans because the Obama campaign filed a lawsuit seeking to block an Ohio law that restricts a successful early voting program.

Union members in the Marietta, Ohio, area are joining with several charitable organizations to raise funds to build a “smart home” for Army Private First Class Kyle Hockenberry who lost both legs in an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan last year.

The Parkersburg-Marietta Building and Construction Trades Council has volunteered the labor to build the house. The group is also working with the Gary Sinise Foundation and the Tunnels to Towers Foundation’sBuilding for America’s Bravest initiative in promoting an Aug. 16 fundraising concert in Marietta featuring Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band. Sinise portrayed double amputee Lt. Dan in the movie “Forrest Gump.” 

William Plotner waited for his daughter’s second birthday to enroll in the military on Sept. 11, 2004—three years after the World Trade Center twin towers fell. He wanted his daughter to remember the significance of her birth date. But most of all, he wanted her to think of him as a hero. Now Plotner, a U.S. Army veteran and member of the Laborers (LIUNA) Local 79, is rebuilding the World Trade Center.

Says Plotner:

On 9-11-04 I swore in. And now I get to work here. It brings, like, another sense of pride.

The Writers Guild of America, East and the Wounded Warrior Project have joined forces in a project that pairs military veterans and their family members with award-winning writers, empowering them with storytelling skills to share their post-war experiences.

Read the full story here, part of the AFL-CIO In Our Communities feature highlights.

WI

Karen Hickey at the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO recently talked with war veterans about why they support Tom Barrett for governor in the state's June 5 recall election of Gov. Scott Walker.

Milwaukee County Supervisor and U.S. Marine veteran John Weishan pointed out that Walker’s record does not match his rhetoric, calling Walker’s actions against veterans “atrocious.” As Milwaukee county executive, Scott Walker routinely cut funding for veteran programs, services and for the War Memorial at the Lake Front. 

James Gilbert is director of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council.

As I sat down to write a blog post for Memorial Day for the Union Veterans Council, I could not help but remember our chairman and friend Mark Ayers who passed away last month. It seems only fitting that on this weekend that we remember those service members that gave the ultimate sacrifice that we remember him and his words. His statement from 2010 is one of the most poignant expressions of what Memorial Day means to the families of the fallen, fellow veterans and what it should mean to our country. I feel that this Memorial Day it is more than appropriate to share the words of former Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) President Ayers again.

On May 8th, the Ohio AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council held its first lobby day at the Ohio Statehouse. Veterans made the trip to the Capitol from all over Ohio—Dayton, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Lancaster, Youngstown, Canton, Akron, Columbus and everywhere in between to lobby their legislators on issues important to veterans and their families.

Kudos to Los Angeles union members who helped out those in need over the recent holiday. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Labor Community Services, AFL-CIO sponsored the Homeless Heroes Team, with more than 200 union members, their families and veterans taking part in a 5K run/walk and raising $10,000 for homeless vets.