By Brooke Thomson
President and CEO

Americans will tomorrow observe Veterans Day honoring the bravery and sacrifice of those who have served in the nation’s armed forces. The staff and board of directors of Associated Industries of Massachusetts expresses its profound gratitude to the 275,000 military veterans living in our state and to their comrades throughout the nation.

For many Massachusetts employers, every day is veterans’ day. AIM member companies from one end of the commonwealth to the other recognize the discipline, work ethic, intelligence and creativity that veterans bring with them from the military into the workplace. No surprise, then, that many businesses are glad to hire veterans or to do business with veteran-owned companies.

Veterans contribute to the US economy through a combination of strong labor-market participation, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement. Veterans maintain a low unemployment rate of 3.1% as of August 2025. They have a higher representation in skilled sectors like manufacturing and construction, and veteran-owned businesses contribute about $1 trillion in annual sales.

Additionally, veteran households contribute to the economy through civic engagement, with veterans volunteering at a higher rate than non-veterans.

Energy company Eversource has received multiple awards for its commitment to hiring veterans, including the 2025 VETS Indexes 3 Star Employer Award and the U.S. Department of Labor’s HIRE Vets Gold Award in 2020. The company has been recognized for its efforts in recruiting, hiring, developing, and supporting military personnel through initiatives like the Eversource Veterans Association.

Eversource was also named by Military Times EDGE among the top 50 companies in the nation for friendliness toward veterans.

Among the 830 veterans and current service members working for Eversource is Paige Sullivan, its Electric Field Operations Supervisor and an Air National Guard Tech Sergeant. Her job with the military is keeping jets flying safely. She’s served during a NATO mission as crew chief for the F-15 fighter jets. Paige believes “you can be good on your own…but without a team…you’ll never be great.” That’s the approach she brings to working with her colleagues at Eversource.

At Littleton-based Mevion Medical Systems – which is delivering on the promise of proton therapy for cancer centers, clinicians and patients worldwide – at least 75% of the Field Service Team are veterans, primarily from the Navy.  Veterans make up more than 20 percent of the overall company workforce.

“We are proud to stand by our veteran employees and recognize the incredible contributions they make every day. Their dedication and resilience inspire our mission to advance cancer care for all,” the company said in a Facebook post.

E.M. Duggan, a fifth-generation, family-owned mechanical contracting company in Canton, pays tribute to the veterans on its team with a section of its web site called Our Military Heroes. The page includes video testimonials by Duggan employees talking about their military service ad its importance to the nation.

“If I had my life to life over again, I’d do the exact same thing,” said Richard Armitstead, a Navy veteran and Vice President of Special Projects at Duggan.

Patrick Ryan, an apprentice pipefitter, said his clearest memory of serving in the Marine Corps was “my guys.”

“It takes a different type of person to join the military and be successful and overcome their fears. Just takes a lot of hard work and perseverance,” Ryan said.

E.M. Duggan specializes in plumbing, HVAC, and fire protection systems. The company provides a range of services, including installation, design-build, and 24-hour service and maintenance for its mechanical systems.

UPS, meanwhile, is one of the largest employers of military veterans in the world. Some 19,000 veterans, National Guard members and reservists are employed across the organization. To further support their veteran workforce, a new manager position was created to focus on Veteran Talent Acquisition Strategy, including retention. The company surveys veterans annually and reaches out to new veteran hires within 30 days to track trends and refine strategies.

UPS also operates 19 Veteran Business Resource Group (VBRG) chapters across the U.S., offering leadership development and mentorship programs. Additionally, veterans are recognized with handwritten thank-you notes and small gifts, such as pins or dog tags, as a token of appreciation.

At Microsoft, the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy is a full-time, 17-week training program designed to help transitioning service members, Guard, Reserves, and veterans learn critical skills for the tech industry. The course prepares students for careers in cloud application development or server and cloud administration. Program graduates have an opportunity to interview for a full-time job at Microsoft or one of its hiring partners. Top roles include software engineer, service engineer, and sales support.

More than 750 Microsoft hiring partners have hired MSSA graduates, and more than 90% of students graduate from MSSA. The remote certification program is funded by Microsoft at no cost to the veteran. MSSA is also a Department of Defense-approved program offered by SkillBridge.

Similarly, Dell runs the Boomi Veteran Academy, which prepares vets for a civilian career in IT. Acquired by Dell in 2010, Boomi is a low-code, cloud-based integration platform, also known as iPaaS (integration Platform as a Service). Those with Boomi certification can work at Boomi or as a Dell Boomi integration developer for companies that use the cloud integration tool.

The Boomi Veteran Academy offers in-person and online learning. The in-person option is an 8-week summer internship at Boomi HQ in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania.

In the Berkshires, Soldier On is a private nonprofit organization committed to ending veteran homelessness since 1994. Soldier On’s mission is to help veterans reclaim their place in the community while returning meaning, dignity, and hope to their lives.

Soldier On offers a continuum of ongoing care to veterans and their families that includes long-term housing with an array of support services delivered where they live. The goal is to provide homeless or at-risk homeless veterans with permanent, supportive, sustainable housing with services.

Soldier On offers a variety of need-based housing solutions including emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent housing to effectively assist at-risk veterans. The organization provides direct supportive services and temporary financial assistance to veterans who are at-risk of homelessness in Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program.