Uber Has Hired Tens of Thousands of Veterans Will Critics Notice?
I use Uber about once a month. These guys seem far less unhappy than some that say they speak for the drivers. Be all that as it may, this is a great idea, well executed.
“Uber uniquely can be this on-demand income generator,” says Emil Michael, senior vice president of business at Uber. “You can turn the app on and make money, and turn the app off when you have other things to do.”
The company launched its UberMILITARY initiative in September 2014 as a way to reach out to veterans and their families. From 2009 to 2011, Michael served as a special assistant to the former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, accompanying him to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere. He says a central concern among veterans is re-integrating into their communities after leaving the service, and he saw a need for flexible work options—like driving for Uber—while they’re transitioning into more permanent employment.
For the near future, Michael says the company has several more priorities, including paying out as much as a half billion dollars to drivers who have worked or still work in the military by 2020; improving access to military bases; and coming up with a special perks program for veterans who drive on Uber.
Robert Isaac Jr., a veteran who’s been driving for Uber in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past two years, said he’s been surprised to find how easy it is to casually talk with passengers about serving in the military—an otherwise difficult topic for him to bring up in other everyday settings.
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