In 1882, over 10,000 people flocked to New York to participate in America’s first Labor Day parade. While it was seen as a celebration it was also a time to discuss strategies for securing not only better jobs but safer working conditions. That movement became so successful that for many now just seen as one last hoorah as summer is coming to an end & football season gets into full swing.
4 years ago a switch was thrown & a video was aired on Labor Day announcing a new website with a simple & yet not so simple mission. That mission was to create a new awareness among Americans that those “better jobs” many had fought for; are not only out there, but they need people to fill them as they are a great career choice & not just a fallback. Thus mikeroweWORKS was born & the PR campaign for blue collar workers & work was officially launched. Since that time, quite a lot has changed and when one takes a few minutes to look back it is quite remarkable.
The Tradesmen:
The mrW Tradesmen was originally conceived as a group of individuals with experience willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us. An mrW Tradesman should be able to answer your questions (or point you in the right direction) whether you’re an “apprentice” type, someone looking to get into the business, or just a genuinely curious individual. When they officially launched the site I think there was maybe 20 of us “tradesmen” signed up & know there are 118 officially listed.
The Foundation:
The Foundation back then was started with Mike’s own money & was big time in the red due to all the setup costs, lawyer’s fees, etc… Donations slowly started trickling in & now they are rolling in which has helped over 70 students attend the Skills USA National Championships in just the last two years. This doesn’t include the numerous other types of cash & tool scholarships that have been handed out or given to other organizations.
The Mission Spreads:
With sponsors like Viva, Cat and numerous others, some superb moderators & forum regulars, and of course the crew at mrW headquarters the message is spreading far & wide. Congress has gone from just thinking about college to actually inviting, listening to & acting on Mike’s words. Go Build Alabama was one of the first state sponsored sites to launch with Mike’s help followed up by Georgia with rumors of a nationwide campaign starting soon.
Still plenty to do:
While the PR campaign is well under way & appears to be picking up steam there still is a lot to do as this Skills Gap infographic from workboots.com shows.
So on this Labor Day, here’s to Mike for what he has started & continues to do. It sure will be interesting to see how much more it grows and what is accomplished in the coming years by everyone. Happy Labor Day everyone
Oh, ok I had to throw this one in – the cast & crew of mikeroweWORKS headquarters having a little fun & shoot if this video gets a million hits My Dirty Jobs, LLC will donate $5,000 to the mikeroweWORKS Foundation.
Hey, Sean. This is a great post and Mike Rowe’s efforts over the past four years in creating awareness and providing resources are very laudable. But I’d also like to point out your own contributions to all of this. In the time I’ve known you, I’ve seen you invest a tremendous amount of your own time and travel, etc., functioning as ref, mentor, supporter, etc., at Skills USA, and other similar events. So yeah, Mike has done well, but trades education would be a loss without the first-line, selfless contributions of guys like yourself.
Wow thanks for the kind words John, and you are right – trades education & lots of other items would be at a loss without all of us that have joined Mike &/or just do it because it is the right thing to do.
For Skills though, if it wasn’t for Mike putting the site together & Bob Medved aka RAM (who has been at the last 10 or so) letting everyone know about it / encouraging us to come check it out, I would probably be completely oblivious to it even existing. So while Mike will whole heartedly agree with you (see below) I got to give him props for getting this whole thing rolling.
Via the forum; The awkward part of what I’m about to say has to do with the fact that my name is a part of mikeroweWORKS. As many of you know, it was supposed to have been “microworks,” but lawsuits loomed and proper nouns won out. Point is, mikeroweWORKS is not about me. In Santa Monica, a small group of insanely dedicated women have my back at every turn. mrW would not exist without them. And here, a diehard group of viewers have not only kept the conversation lively, but helped put the whole damn thing together. This site is more you than me, and I appreciate you all, very very much.
Most of all, mrW is about that increasingly small group of young people who are willing and enthused to learn a skill and master a trade. They are the real reason we’re here, and the only truly excellent excuse to press on.
Thanks guys, very much.
Mike
(post 24)
Hey, Sean. This is a great post and Mike Rowe’s efforts over the past four years in creating awareness and providing resources are very laudable. But I’d also like to point out your own contributions to all of this. In the time I’ve known you, I’ve seen you invest a tremendous amount of your own time and travel, etc., functioning as ref, mentor, supporter, etc., at Skills USA, and other similar events. So yeah, Mike has done well, but trades education would be a loss without the first-line, selfless contributions of guys like yourself.
Wow thanks for the kind words John, and you are right – trades education & lots of other items would be at a loss without all of us that have joined Mike &/or just do it because it is the right thing to do.
For Skills though, if it wasn’t for Mike putting the site together & Bob Medved aka RAM (who has been at the last 10 or so) letting everyone know about it / encouraging us to come check it out, I would probably be completely oblivious to it even existing. So while Mike will whole heartedly agree with you (see below) I got to give him props for getting this whole thing rolling.
Via the forum; The awkward part of what I’m about to say has to do with the fact that my name is a part of mikeroweWORKS. As many of you know, it was supposed to have been “microworks,” but lawsuits loomed and proper nouns won out. Point is, mikeroweWORKS is not about me. In Santa Monica, a small group of insanely dedicated women have my back at every turn. mrW would not exist without them. And here, a diehard group of viewers have not only kept the conversation lively, but helped put the whole damn thing together. This site is more you than me, and I appreciate you all, very very much.
Most of all, mrW is about that increasingly small group of young people who are willing and enthused to learn a skill and master a trade. They are the real reason we’re here, and the only truly excellent excuse to press on.
Thanks guys, very much.
Mike
(post 24)