NEW: State Rep. Pushes for RIPTA to Hire Vets
Friday, December 23, 2011
Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr., chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, is urging the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to give veterans consideration as it hires 20 new bus drivers.
At the same time, the legislator blasted the agency for its plan to lay off 33 current employees, and its recent hiring of two drivers with criminal records, who were later dismissed after their hiring made headlines.
“In these difficult times, when Rhode Island faces one of the country’s highest rates of unemployment, I am saddened by the actions of RIPTA’s board of directors who not only chose to accept the CEO’s proposal to layoff 33 current employees but also his misguided plan to hire people with criminal pasts as drivers,” said Representative Gallison, a Democrat who represents District 69 in Bristol and Portsmouth.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIf RIPTA is interested in adopting hiring practices to help those particularly in need of assistance to reintegrate in society, he suggested the agency give preference to veterans returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and other missions around the globe, many of whom no longer have jobs because their previous employers fell victim to the dire economy, or Vietnam-era vets who often struggle to find work.
“If there are 20 new positions out there to be had, I would suggest that RIPTA’s efforts should be spent trying to help our returning and past veterans reintegrate into society before criminals. These veterans lost their opportunities to find long-lasting employment not because they were incarcerated but because they chose to serve our country and protect our freedom. Based upon the difficulties they have faced in finding long-term and sustainable employment, I believe it is the veterans and not the ex-offenders who we should be looking to help,” he said.