In those days, all tradesmen took immense pride in their work! I think that pride in one's work is a think of the past. It is sad to see this pride disappear in today's work force! Stay well my friends, Franchi
Franchi, I never thought I'd be saying this, but I've seen this same sort of pride of workmanship in some union workers. Believe it or not, it's true. I know it's hard to believe, I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it and worked next to it.
I hasten to add that these fellows were working as subcontractors in a commercial nuclear plant and so were fairly well paid by local standards. However their work was so good that we called them craftsmen rather than workers or tradesmen. I DO know that much of their pride in workmanship was due to peer pressure but the result was still most impressive to me.
I also hasten to add that my state is a Right-To-Work state and most of the residents are adamantly opposed to any sort of union. I was raised in an environment where most of the goodoleboys fairly screamed "I don't need no stinkin' UNION to get me a job OR keep me a job!" and "Unions are a tool of lazy weak-kneed no-work socialists!"
So you can see that my change of opinion was significant. I found that some of these guys were every bit as proud of their work as any artist in any other genre, and the quality of their work reflected it.
Not saying that all or even most union workers are superior craftsmen, no not AT ALL 'cause I know better. Just saying that pride in superior craftsmanship isn't completely dead quite yet, and (lucky for us) can still be found in some surprising places (grin).
Regards, Joe
