Thank you for your service! This has become a common and appropriate salutation when we learn that someone has served our country in military service. Verbal gratitude has become almost expected in our society, whether someone is still on active duty or served over 50 years ago. This was not always the case, but this minimal gesture can make an individual feel appreciated and reinforce the importance of our military to our way of life.

I regularly deal with tough and challenging issues facing movers and frequently wish members of the public, regulators, law enforcement, and the Military Services and their programs (DP3 and the pending GHC) were more empathetic and respectful regarding their challenges. I am often disappointed by the lack of understanding the first time something doesn’t go exactly as the other party expected, even if less than reasonable.

I, for one, say to the community of movers, “Thank you for your service.”

Before anyone jumps the gun and thinks I am directly comparing the job of moving with serving in the military, hear me out.
Movers, particularly household goods movers, have played and continue to play a significant role in personal mobility, a critical element in the successes of industrial and postindustrial America. Having served as CMSA Chairman during the tragedy of September 11, 2001, I have strong memories of the almost complete shutdown of transportation and the difficult impact on relocation that resulted from those terrorist acts.

Most movers work hard to make a reasonable wage for the risks and challenges they face regularly. They can regularly work in less-than-ideal weather, well over 100 degrees in the summer and below-freezing temperatures in the winter. Day in and day out, they pack and move everything from bedroom sets to major appliances, pool tables to gun safes, filing cabinets to easy chairs. They are frequently away from family and friends, missing events like birthdays and graduations.
Moving military members and their families is a significant part of our total business, and many movers have real concerns about their future engagement. I’ll leave business decisions up to individual movers and contractors, but I will always speak up about issues of fairness and respect. The International Association of Mover (IAM), a highly respected voice for all movers recently wrote about US TransCom and the current DP3 program highlighting serious concerns about misleading satisfaction statistics. If true, this is at least a black eye for the program if not a tool of manipulation. Movers deserve respect for the hard work they do for the military, be it today or 50 years ago.

To all movers past and present, “Thank you for your service.”

August 2024 - CMSA Communicator