Metro was recently recognized by various elected officials and businesses for being a veteran friendly business. Metro CEO Art Leahy, Transportation Planning Manager Suzanne Lauver and Lonnie Mitchell, Executive Director of Strategic Workforce Planning, show some of the proclamations received.

Photos by Luis Inzunza/Metro

Metro will be supporting the first Public Transportation Supports America’s Veterans Day on Monday, November 12. The goal is to bring greater awareness to the fact that public transportation jobs include skills veterans may already have obtained through their military service.

Metro DCEO Paul Taylor speaking at the veterans job fair hosted at Gateway Plaza earlier this year.

Metro has been very proactive in reaching out to the veteran community, from attending veterans’ job fairs all over Los Angeles County to hosting a veterans’ job fair earlier this year. On Saturday, November 10, Metro will attend the Veterans Appreciation Festival at USS Iowa in San Pedro, hosted by Mayor Villaraigosa and Councilman Joe Buscaino. Metro also supported the 3-day event San Gabriel Valley “Heroes in the Shadows” Homeless Veterans Stand Down, which was held in South El Monte from Nov. 2 – 4. Organizers of the event were provided with Metro “Jobs for Veterans” contact cards and support to assist veterans with transportation to the site.

Furthermore, Metro has recently partnered with Hero-2-Hired and Community Career Development, Inc., resources that connect job-seeking reserve service members and veterans with employers. In the year 2012, 7% of Metro’s new hires self-identified as veterans, and Metro supports the transportation industry goal to increase veteran hiring to 10% – 12% over the next three years.