Honoring the American Worker

I love the new Jeep commercials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi0SbrrGaiw America, the commercial goes, has always been a country of craftsmen, builders. It is a great vision of an historic America. But how accurate is it a picture of today's America?

Starting with the traditional Department of Labor "American Worker" http://newsok.com/article/3492012 speech, which this year for the first time ever was delivered in Spanish and English. Signpost 1: no shock to anyone but the American Worker is diverse. The diversity of the American workforce is nothing new. Immigrants during the Industrial Revolution helped fuel what the Jeep commercial touts as American ingenuity and craftsmanship. Today is no different. Our immigrant make up has changed, no doubt, but the American Worker, when he works with diligence and dedication and assimilates himself and his family finds success regardless of ethnicity.

Also indicative of the image of the American Worker in 2010, the speech diverted form its traditional "State of the American Worker" and became a "what we're doing for the American Worker speech" since clearly the state of the American Worker is something 1 of 10, and more like 2 of 10 when we count underemployed, don't care to talk about this holiday. Signpost 2: So the state of the American Worker is underemployed or unemployed.

According to a recent AP study our economy has taken a permanent shift. We as the American Worker, and what the Secretary of Labor will not tell you is that if you have a specialized skill or education, you will continue to enjoy opportunities in America.

Secondarily, if you are the lower-skilled, lower-paid jobs you will continue to see growth in this area. Healthcare workers, waitresses, waiters, service-industry and service focused roles will always have a need at least through the next generation. We need our lawns mowed and our suits tailored and our nails manicured.

Those in the middle, well, it will not fare well for you. Your choice, like so many American’s today, is one of choosing a lower income job or retooling your skills, getting a degree or an advanced certification, specializing further into a field such as software, healthcare, or science.

Reminds of me an interesting conversation with a neighbor and good friend. He sells journals. The big, heavy, professional, leather-bound with cotton rag paper journals you used to see across the back of a desk, or on a bookshelf in a doctor or lawyer’s office. I told him he’s at a crossroads. How, in reality, can he expect with iPads and iPods and smart phones and tablets out the wazzoo, how could he expect in reality any of the students today in law school or medical school would ever even crack one of those open when in two flicks of their iPad they can have each reference to their topic of choice downloaded across every journal ever published?

Similarly, it is time to evaluate your skills, your job, your role. The value you are driving into your organization, your company, your market sector. Not the sweetest lesson we can have on Labor Day, but perhaps today, more than ever, it is the most needed.