How do we enable American workers to gain basic needs security?
Manufacturing involves taking a raw material and making it into a usable or sellable product. It commonly requires tools such as mechanical presses and dies, limit switches, and conveyor belts. A modern manufacturing facility will often have on-site laboratory expertise (sometimes manufacturing occurs in a laboratory-grade area), CNC machines, and 3-D printers to make final parts and forms.
There are few simple components in a manufacturing facility. To further complicate manufacturing, the facilities often run continuously. Depending on the facility, a problem at some points along a manufacturing line can delay or stop production for the entire facility, posing a labor cost challenge.
The workers who run and operate the facilities have an amazing spirit.Â
On the one hand, they are historically underpaid compared to housing, education, and healthcare costs. They have too few benefits. They have too many challenges, such as childcare and housing.Â
On the other hand, they are tenacious. They take great pride in their work. There are visible reminders throughout their facilities to take pride in the work and care for your teammates.
It’s a good reminder for us all.
We all must share the same spirit, take pride in our work, and care for our fellow Americans.
Some brilliant people have no education past high school. Take, for instance, a pipe fitter. He could feel a mechanical system having issues, figure out the correction, explain it, and fix it before most people even understood what was broken. Another, a mechanic, would use his hands to turn an invisible 3-D image of what must have been a model of a system he was picturing in front of himself. He did this to understand how pieces fit to assemble complex machinery. Brilliance and expertise are not solely the products of formal education; they can manifest in unique and practical ways.
Education level doesn’t indicate your mental ability other than showing your ability to do well in an educational environment.
Despite this reality, the Center for American Progress defines the American working class simply as the part of the labor force that does not have a college degree. They include manufacturing, skilled trades, retail, services, and many other careers. They claim that 62% of American workers fall into this group. That would mean there are around 100 million Americans in the working class.
Too few of these workers have basic needs security. Basic needs security is different for many circumstances, but if we got some core things right, it would help many people.
Do people have food on the table and heat in the house? Do they even have housing security? Do they have clean water to drink?
If one of their kids is sick, do they have the means to take them to the doctor? What about when they get sick?
Do they have the resources to go to work if they have young children who can’t be left unattended? American workers are often proud. They don’t want handouts—they want to contribute to their community. But you can’t leave a 2-year-old alone at home either.
These necessities are essential for any American.
This issue transcends politics; it's a matter of national urgency. Recognizing the need for a strong, innovative workforce capable of driving global markets is imperative. Addressing financial insecurity among workers is not just pro-American business but also pro-equality and pro-innovation.
We need to recognize the history, but we need to establish an objective:
How do we make a strong, innovative American workforce that can drive world markets?
We need a strong working class. America needs our core capabilities to perform at a high level. Workers who are financially insecure don’t operate at peak performance, and the nation loses out.
This is pro-America. Pro-American business. Pro-equal opportunity for all.
How do we enable American workers to gain basic needs security?
Our first step is to establish an objective:
How do we make a strong, innovative American workforce that can drive world markets?
Establishing an objective that is measurable, achievable (all those SMART words) is the first step. Next week we start to break it down into smaller buckets. In future weeks we can consider details.
May God bless the United States of America.
