SEIU 721 member Ryan Wood was profiled by the local paper for his nomination of Simi Valley for the 2010 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for supporting workers serving in the National Guard and Reserves.
Ryan Wood, Waterworks Service Worker nominated Simi Valley because of their support for their support of his service in the National Guard and the relief from knowing that his family will still have health care while he is away on deployment.
“I hear all the time from my shipmates that their bosses treat them badly, and I feel lucky and blessed that I don’t receive that from my employer,” Wood said in an interview with the Ventura County Star before he left. Click her to read the full article here.
Simi Valley is among the 160 California employers nominated for the award. A national selection board of senior defense officials and business leaders will select up to 15 recipients of the 2010 awards in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23.