Blue collar workers know things about the country by the very nature of the fact that they are building it. In commemoration of Labor day, it's time for a check in with "the blue collar life". There have been several diaries of mine detailing the blue collar life on this site and others. For those who have followed my stories, the update from last time, when my husband was nearly zapped on a site that did not follow OSHA standards for lock/in, lock/out is that he is still alive and working as is the guy who flipped the switch without following proper procedure. The days of safety and loyalty may be gone, at least on some job sites.
My husband is currently working on a site that cannot be named or discussed. So we cannot discuss the heaviness in his heart about the buildings he is helping to create. What dawns on me, when I think of the stereotypical union worker, is once again, how much they really know. How so many of them, think in terms of structure and how they have their ears to the ground and on the pulse of the nation. They know things. As much as I have wanted to dismiss my husband's paranoid rants about what the government may or may not be doing, the truth is, that on many levels my husband has accurately predicted the trajectory since 2001. It pains me sometimes to admit this.