Kilgore Trout

Well yeah, I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon of bein' pretty clueless about something and asking for advice from complete strangers. Go easy.

Need help/advice/comment on similar experience if it's forthcoming from you, out there.

Basically been jobless since last fall. In the Army National Guard. E-5 11B. Prior service in the Navy when I was a kid. College degree but did not pursue a commission. Just joined to deploy. And I did, Iraq/Kuwait 06 to 07.

My problem is this.
When I came back, I went back to my 135 gig, had a good season (seasonal AK stuff) but got laid off for the winter. Was pretty ****ed about that because the pilots kept around for the winter had been hired after I deployed. Was told that I was hired as a seasonal employee initially, so I should not have expected to have accrued seniority or job protection while I was deployed. Basically, I quit after hearing that. Was upset, but did understand their reasoning, as it is, after all, a highly seasonal occupation.
All good now, but they don't want me back. And I don't want to work for them either.

Have pursued a few leads since.
The most promising looked like it was gonna pan out okay, but has now hit some snags. The new job would require a move to a different state, and transfer to a new unit to fulfill my Guard duties.
Now the owner of the operation tells me that they are "not sure" about whether or not my one weekend a month and possible AT would be workable for them.
I understand staffing concerns at smaller outfits.
I understand that if I got deployed I'd leave them in the lurch for a bit.
I understand that it's a pain in the ass to hire a Guard Soldier because of schedule stuff.

Now, though, after feeling burned by the last job, I am considering telling the new prospective employer to **** off.

I like the Guard. I like serving. I don't want to transfer to a new unit and be a "problem child" because of civilian job stuff. I don't want to miss out on training with my unit at their normal drills in order to "flex" drill because of civilian job concerns. One weekend a month, is that so hard to deal with?

Anyway, would like to hear if others out there have dealt with this kind of thing, and some ideas for dealing with it.

Thank you for reading this.

TankerBob

Here is the thing, I would start looking into the USEERA laws.
First job -- I am not 100% but I am pretty sure, regardless they have to retain your position within the company regardless. They cannot get rid of you based on the military service.

Second job -- they can not decided to not hire you based on the fact that you are military. Since they basically told that, you have grounds for a lawsuit if you so chose.

Like I said I would look into USEERA, there should be a rep within your unit that should be able to help you out. If you have trouble PM me and I will try to talk to mine and let you know who your rep is.

Kilgore Trout

Appreciate the reply Tanker Bob.

I am somewhat familiar with the laws regarding protection of Guard/Reserve service members.
I've never considered using them in my case, as I feel like I'd like to work things out with an employer before it came to that point, or that I do not want to be a part of a company where I was forced to use that type of recourse.

I am familiar with serious breaches of the re-employment laws with two Soldiers from my deployment. One works for the prison system in the state I live in, and the other works for TSA, believe it or not. I do not know how those cases have turned out. From what I heard, they sounded like valid cases, which deserved investigation by an outside agency.

Like I said, I don't want to use that stuff. I quit the last job when I was told that I was not being considered for a winter position. I now regret my hot-headedness in that situation, but was ****ed that I was passed over for people hired while I was gone. Do understand their logic though. It's Alaska, highly seasonal.

My basic question here is this- have other Guard/Reserve service people here experienced problems with getting hired at a civilian employer, and how have they dealt with it? Especially at smaller companies, because it seems now that bigger companies are more experienced at dealing with this stuff and have fewer problems?

As stated above, I've been tentatively offered a job in another state, but based on some recent feedback from that outfit, I'm starting to believe I do NOT want to work for them. Have other people had negative experiences in this arena, and how have they dealt with scheduling concerns, job security, and other factors related to civilian/guard/reserve job conflicts?



Thanks, SGT K.T.

Dirtdiver

KT,
I was AFRES for 15 years, I feel your pain.
Did the potential employer put the "I don't want to hire you because of your Guard commitment" in writing? Without it on paper, he'll probably deny, and your lawsuit will grind to a halt.

UPTme

Kilgore Trout

Thanks for the replies.
Still working on it. Talked to the recruiting people in the state I'm looking at moving to for the job. The recruiter was pretty straightforward about what unit he thinks would work best for scheduling. Pretty encouraged by that.
We'll see.

Might be going from Infantry to Engineers!
Is that good?