Posted on 06.15.09 to Elbows by Jordan Childs

The Aspirational Blue Collar Brand

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Last year, Mike Rowe gave a TED Talk about his show “Dirty Jobs” that culminated in him recognizing the value of hard work. Not the, “I spent ten hours putting together a spreadsheet” type of hard work, but the steel bending, dirt moving and back snapping type of hard work. The “blue collar” kind of hard work.

It’s a cultural phenomenon that my (our) generation is growing up with a completely different definition of success than previous generations. When our grandparents and great grandparents were huddled behind enemy lines in occupied Europe almost 70 years ago; they were not praying for the war to end so they could go home and be a creative director. They did not want to be the CEO of a major corporation or found the next innovation consultancy. They wanted to make it home to work hard. To build cars, drive cabs, open stores and contribute to the prosperity of a nation. We have lost this mentality today. We are a generation of immediate gratification and highest aspiration.

I reference the Mike Rowe talk because he speaks to something that is waiting to be championed. He notes that every year there are fewer plumbers, fewer electricians and enrollment in trade schools is dropping off exponentially. People are not looking at these careers and getting excited about the possibilities any longer. The life of the Blue Collar worker is becoming more and more unattractive.

When in actuality this is completely wrong. You want to know what an honorable day of work is? It’s performing a service that satisfies basic societal needs. We must begin bringing the appeal back to these jobs.

People who put in more than 8 hours everyday of difficult, physical labor are the new elite society in our country. More and more MBA’s, lawyers and academically trained robots are pouring into the workforce and the thought of getting their hands dirty is enough to send them back for more degrees. Hard work is not something everyone can do- this should be celebrated.

Value brands (Target, Vizio, Wal-Mart, Ikea) are very much in vogue but none of them speak to this blue collar group while ruthlessly excluding the delicate, pencil pushing white collar worker. Where is the brand for the American Worker? A lifestyle brand that is built with the hard worker in mind and one that serves the specialized needs of this group. Grooming products, clothing, shoes, tools, cooking products, catering trucks.

The opportunity is waiting- the American worker is due for another time in the spotlight.

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Post Tags: blue collar, contractors, Elbows, Jordan Childs, Mike Rowe, stimulus package, TED TALKS, white collar pussies, workers

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Chris Daugherty, Houston, Texa

Call me iconoclastic. Yet, let's not overlook the sacred "business of education." It is Big Business. Each time I hear about a young person who graduates with a 4 year degree, $50,000 in debt, and no practical skills to make a living I have to wonder what exactly they thought they were buying. Haven't they just acquired another very expensive "high status" consumer product. We used to hear over and over how the college educated will out earn the uneducated 3 and 4 fold over their lifetime. Suddenly, when you calculate the unearning years spent in school, then add in the debt, we begin to see this isn't always a given. I started telling my kids early that I'll happily send them to the university--after they spend a couple years learning a trade. I'm all for learning about science, history, the arts---yet, from my perspective, it's the skilled tradesman I know who are making bank.

greg johnson

i have a college degree and i choose to work with my hands. i'm an aircraft mechanic that also installs hvac when i'm not fixing aircraft. i found that i can't stand being in an office. i love working and busting a sweat. i'm excited to see what i fixed/installed come to life. the guy that drives that trash truck works as fast as he can and he's done. no phone calls late at night taking him away from his family. the lady fixing your plumbing when it breaks on a weekend; gets to see the relief on your face when you thank her for coming out. we don't all do what we do because we want to. i've been on the other side of the fence, it didn't take long before i jumped back over to the 'dirty' side. thanks

sarah pappalardo

Ooh I will argue that they DO pay (check out how much a union drywaller makes, or how little a non-union drywaller doesn't claim on their taxes), but that it's just becoming unfashionable. Since the blue collar workers of the past generation sent all their kids to college, they (we) have a completely warped, abstract view of what "work" should be, and that only the tards should be fixing our plumbing.

For many of us, those tards were our parents or grandparents.

Tards.

Ryan Roberts

For the last two weeks I've been building walkways around an apartment complex, and it has been the most satisfying thing I've done in two years. It took massive amounts of creativity, and left something tangible, real, and helpful to people.

There is money to be made doing work like this, but those workers need to be satisfied with a cap of $100,000 to $200,000 a year. This would be possible if they didn't blow their hard earned money on the frivolous crap advertisers coerce them into feeling they need to be equal to doctors, lawyers, or the "educated" class.

At the end of the day they simply need to have pride in their career; for their spouse, kids, and neighbors to admire them. This only happens when society begins placing value on their existence.

Joey Camire

Because they don't pay. It is a meritocracy, and the current standard doesn't afford merit to those who break their backs everyday. I've done both and I understand exactly what you are saying, but we need to make those jobs worth working in some way shape or form. In all honesty it requires some type of socialism I think... capitalism will certainly never offer those people anything. It views them as expendable "grunts."