The IBEW has honored the sacrifices made by veterans in the United States and Canada for more than a century. We thank them for their service, but more importantly, we have helped put so many on a path to the middle class with careers in the electrical industry.

Veterans are ideal candidates for IBEW careers, with their sense of purpose, teamwork and dedication. Recruiting them is vital to grow our membership and our market share. That’s just good business.

In recent years, we have stepped up our outreach to veterans. VEEP — the Veterans Electrical Entry Program — allows active-duty servicemembers to study our trade and then choose a training center closer to home with a year’s apprenticeship credit once they leave the military.

That program is growing rapidly, with inside and outside training centers being added all the time to keep up with demand.

I want to see every inside and outside local union welcome these veterans into your training programs, and I believe we’re on a path to getting there.

As part of this commitment, IST Noble and I have hired a new international representative dedicated solely to veterans’ issues. You can read more from Brother Mike Smith, or Smitty, and his role on page 6 in this issue of The Electrical Worker.

His passion for helping others is obvious. Following a decade of service in the U.S. Navy, he’s worked on veterans’ issues inside and outside the IBEW.

For starters, any veteran who needs help — for instance, assuring that a veteran member is getting everything they are entitled to under the law — is encouraged to reach out to Smitty.

Locals in both countries also should reach out to him to find out how they can be more welcoming to veterans.

Working with veterans’ committees at local unions in the U.S. and Canada and helping start new ones, Smitty and our veterans advisory commission members in each district stay abreast of programs to aid veterans.

But even with all the moves we’ve made in recent years, less than 10% of our local unions have a veterans committee. Forming one at your local is the quickest way to show veterans you care. These committees are the conduit between veteran IBEW members and the union’s leadership.

When Paul and I hear from a local’s veterans committee, you’d better believe we listen.

Smitty will be working closely with these committees, VEEP and other programs like Helmets to Hardhats to ensure that veterans have more pathways into the IBEW and a voice within the union once they are in.

This is personal for me. Many of you have heard me speak of the veterans in my family. I’ve seen the sacrifices they’ve made for our country.

Our Brotherhood has much to be proud of when it comes to honoring the men and women who have served our two nations. We also have so much more to give.