AT&T Inc. announced today that G.I. Jobs magazine has included AT&T in its list of America's "Top 50 Most Military-Friendly Employers." This is the third consecutive year that AT&T has been selected for this prestigious honor by the magazine, a national monthly periodical that provides resources to help military members transition into a civilian career. AT&T has been consistently recognized by G.I. Jobs based on the company's exceptional military and veteran recruitment and support programs.
"For more than 85 years, AT&T has remained dedicated to supporting active military personnel, their families and veterans through the hiring of military veterans and maintaining policies that support reservists when they are called to active duty," said Karen Jennings, AT&T's senior executive vice president of human resources and communications. "In addition to our employment commitments, AT&T contributes to nonprofits and other sponsorships that support military personnel, and we make sure that disabled veteran-owned business enterprises are involved throughout our supply chain."
AT&T provides multiple benefits policies for its military employees, including differential pay for up to 30 months for those who report to active duty, and benefit options for employees and their families. AT&T also guarantees the same or like position upon an employee's return from service. Furthermore, AT&T pursues recruiting opportunities with active duty, reserve and retired U.S. armed services personnel by attending job fairs and hosting presentations at military transition centers or bases.
"We understand and appreciate the sacrifices that America's men and women in uniform make because more than 775 AT&T employees have been called to active duty since 9/11, and more than 220 are still serving with U.S. armed forces," Jennings said.
AT&T's recognition as one of the most military-friendly companies in the United States coincides with the establishment of a new internal employee resource group, the AT&T Veterans, which consists of interested employee volunteers who organize company-sponsored events in honor of Veterans Day and Memorial Day, as well as fundraising opportunities and partnerships with organizations that support active duty, reserve and retired U.S. armed services personnel.
In 2006, AT&T has partnered with the United Service Organizations (USO) to distribute a total of 30,000 prepaid phone cards to U.S. military members overseas in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. According to the USO, the top item requested by military personnel is a prepaid phone card. AT&T has donated 20,000 cards already in 2006 and will be making a final donation later this year, as part of an ongoing campaign to help keep military families connected via the best valued prepaid phone cards.
The company and the AT&T Pioneers, active and retired AT&T employee volunteers, have been working in conjunction with the Freedom Calls Foundation to support U.S. military and their families through Telecom Challenge award-winning "Answering the Call???Let Freedom Ring" projects. These ongoing projects have helped thousands of military personnel and their families to date. From a high-tech perspective, the Pioneers bring families of deployed military personnel into AT&T videoconferencing sites for Freedom Calls to link family members both audibly and visually with their deployed soldier overseas.
Read more about this in AT&T press release.
