The Language of Unskilled Labor
Brooks Atkinson once said “don’t be condescending to unskilled labor. Try it for half a day first.” Unskilled labor is defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as “labor that requires relatively little or no training or experience for its satisfactory performance.” I find this definition (which is largely accepted in our society) rather disturbing, particularly when we think about workers performing these seemingly ‘uncomplicated’ series of tasks through hard work and dedication. I would like to conjure the image of a truck delivery driver wearing a back brace to remind you of the pain they endure by sitting for extended periods of time or lifting heavy objects for several hours per day.
A quick look at a list of Indeed.com’s open unskilled labor opportunities includes a wide variety of jobs, such as entry-level work in highway construction, nuclear and wastewater maintenance, mechanics, carpentry, and even HR. This listing doesn’t align with the aforementioned definition because all of these roles require comprehensive training.
If we consider some of the jobs classified as ‘unskilled’ regarding the global pandemic, we think of grocery store cashier, Amazon fulfillment center laborer, and/or medical facility janitor. Is our descriptor of ‘unskilled’ truly applicable to the life-saving and life-sustaining tasks these individuals are undertaking? Let us consider those working on farms, harvesting fruit and vegetables to provide food for us. A New York Times article further highlights the complicated relationship that we have with a majority of these workers. They are immigrants. The article refers to them as ‘essential’ workers. It states, “About half of all crop hands in the United States, more than one million, are undocumented immigrants, according to the Agriculture Department. Growers and labor contractors estimate that the share is closer to 75 percent…In Idaho, where a statewide stay-at-home order began on March 25, dairy owners are scrambling to ensure that the industry’s 8,000 workers, 90 percent of them undocumented, can keep working.”
Let us try to be more accurate in how we classify these jobs in our daily and academic vernacular. What if we replaced ‘unskilled’ with that of imperative? What if we were to shift this language, both now and moving forward? Would this give us a different understanding of this workforce, perhaps an understanding that enables us to promote their human dignity? You can find many stories of human dignity being prioritized, whether it be farm owners in Santa Cruz, CA providing three weeks paid sick time to illegal immigrant farmworkers or building owners in Brooklyn, NY allowing renters to live rent-free for the month of April because so many are currently unemployed and living paycheck to paycheck. You can also find many stories describing an alternative decision, one where human dignity is not prioritized, like in early March when NYC’s MTA transit workers were deterred from wearing masks because it could generate fear amid subway riders.
Many of us have been instructed to shelter in place or stay home, requiring us to adjust to a temporary new normal. Juggling multiple hats like school teacher, chef, and fitness instructor while working from home should prompt a new appreciation for other professions that we perhaps once took for granted. The outpour of support for those working in childcare has been a consistent sentiment I hear from my coworkers and the excitement to return to the gym is a common theme I have discussed with my family and friends. As I reflect on what has changed and shifted during this time, I, like many of you, can’t help but be curious about what happens next. At a time when life, as we know it, has come to a roaring halt, a call for public reflection around language, in particular unskilled labor and how it molds our perception of the work and laborers, appears to have the momentum to effect subsequent change, centering human well-being and dignity.
This article has emerged out of the “Humanizing Initiative,” which seeks to humanize leaders and organizations to cultivate leadership. Thank you to Dr. Shaista Khilji, Jason Smith, and Zoe King for editing support. For more information, please refer to our website (coming June 2020).
