NATION Employers asked to support reservists

So far, 800 employers have pledged their support.
LONG ISLAND NEWSDAY
With the threat of terrorism high and an attack on Iraq still on the drawing board, it's no secret that the military is recruiting -- but not just for bright young people.
Increasingly, employers are getting phone calls from Uncle Sam asking them to take a public pledge of support for their reserve and National Guard employees.
As the country relies more and more on such on-demand workers, their civilian bosses "are becoming inextricably linked to the national defense of our country," said Bob Hollingsworth, a retired Marine reservist who is executive director for the National Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. That is a Department of Defense agency that educates workers and employers, and provides mediation when needed.
So far he, his staff and 2,400 volunteers have nabbed 800 employers -- among them 18 Fortune 500 companies including Xerox, Boeing, Southwest Airlines and Dell Computer -- to declare their support. A recent pledge-taker is Pfizer Inc., which saw 36 of its employees called up after the attacks of September 2001. At a corporate ceremony this month, chief executive Hank McKinnell pledged that employees' career opportunities "will not be limited, denied or sacrificed" if a call-up occurs.
Reminder
Of course, that simply restates a law that guarantees jobs, as well as seniority rights, raises and promotions, for those called up. But it is important for employers to be reminded, said Hollingsworth. Plus, it allows his volunteers to pitch doing more than the law requires, as companies such as Pfizer already do.
"This was an opportunity to take a leadership role and to remind people of why our policy is the way it is," said Rob Norton, Pfizer senior vice president of human resources. The New York-based pharmaceuticals giant allows called-up workers and their families to stay on company health care plans and also makes up the difference between military and Pfizer pay, which are not mandated.
Pfizer's differential pay can last for two years instead of the more common six months, putting the company near the top of the best practices list, said Keith Lebling, a spokesman for the Reserve Officers Association.
Degrees of compliance
It's important to know "your [career] clock doesn't stop while you're recalled" to military duty, said Stuart Smith, director of sales operations for a Pfizer division in Manhattan and a U.S. Navy commander. During eight months of active duty after Sept. 11, he oversaw about two dozen other reservists at an intelligence-gathering center in Memphis, Tenn., and experienced "a wide range" of employer practices. Some bosses were still calling their workers asking them to do company work. And despite the law, he said, those reservists were concerned they wouldn't have their jobs waiting for them if they didn't comply.
The military agency will present awards Nov. 8 in Washington to United Parcel Service Airlines in Kentucky, a division of UPS; General Dynamic Land Systems in Michigan, the Public Service Co. of New Hampshire, Autoliv Inc. in Utah and the state of Wyoming. Companies that make the "good guy" list can be seen at www.esgr.com.