A Pathway Back to Restoring the Dignity of Labor ~ bricks without straw part II
Identifying the Conflict - ‘We’ve lost the dignity of labor’
Along with facing the challenges of peer pressure, our youth today are finding it difficult to navigate their pathway into adulthood as emerging professionals. Learning a skill or trade was once a type of rite of passage that allowed young people to begin to identify their purpose, abilities and potentials. However, labor is no longer a cultural RITE, that reminds individuals of their responsibility to their community to build future legacy. Labor has transitioned into something that is often shunned and avoided in order to show the height of one’s social status.
This conflict between viewing labor as a RITE and benefiting from others labor as a RIGHT has diminished the original intent and purpose of labor. However, in our most recent history, labor began to lose its dignity through the enslavement of African and Native American indigenous cultures in the Americas. Not having to labor while having wealth has represented one’s RIGHT to gain a profit at the expense of someone else's arduous labor. Over the centuries, the ability to have free labor or cheap labor has diminished the value of labor to humanity and caused it to be devalued. This concept was best described by Booker T. Washington almost 120 years ago in his book Up from Slavery when he stated: "We've lost the dignity of labor."
The of labor to humanity was never meant to be expressed through gaining profit at the expense of another’s and suffering. Labor was intended to be a vehicle used to acquire sustainable solutions to local issues while providing an inheritance for future generations. Labor sustains and revitalizes the cultural fabric of community as well as provides products and profits that do not compromise the needs of future generations.
The disconnection from the meaning of ‘dignity of labor’ has been further reinforced through the tension between knowledge systems - Indigenous and Western. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines indigenous knowledge as “skills and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction within their natural surroundings.” IGI Global defines western knowledge as “established laws through the of scientific methods that begin with an observation, followed by a prediction or hypothesis that has to be tested.”
The interaction of these knowledge systems, or a lack thereof, has played a heavy role in modern society. Indigenous knowledge systems involve synergistic cultural customs that help maintain cohesive communities; while, Western knowledge systems consist of individualistic scientific practices that often do not prioritize effects to people or the environment. This conflict has had a crippling effect on young people’s prospects for professional pursuits.
Majority culture has favored white collar professions and steered away from blue collar skilled-labor professions. For the first time, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics is reporting that there are approximately two million unable to be filled because of a lack of qualified skilled-trade workers. The lack of dignity for labor has had a negative effect on the of our culture and planet. Greater efforts should be made to integrate these knowledge systems so that they work together interdependently instead of working against one another.
A Fundamental Expression of Labor - Apprenticeship
The beginning of restoring the pathways of dignity in labor requires more than renewing a sense of pride amongst skilled trade workers. It is a call to all workers across all spectrums - white and blue collar workers - to commit to promote the value of labor that shows honor and respect for an individuals’ ability to meet their own basic needs, which is a basic physiological principle. {Fig 1}.
Maslow’s theory on the Hierarchy of Needs provides a basic apprenticeship model. This model assists with restoring the dignity back into labor through its framework:
● self-sufficiency (the ability to meet basic needs)
● self-care (the priority to care for self and care for others)
● self-fulfillment (the ability to see and achieve one’s full potential).
This framework reinforces the building of character and encourages participants to work well with others. It not only assists youth in meeting their own basic needs and prioritizing care for self and others, but also expands into seeing and achieving one’s full potential.
Indigenous cultures from around the world have practiced this model for years through various types of rites of passage. It is a form of training that builds self-sufficiency, character, confidence and a sense of pride and purpose. Young people are trained to understand the power of feeding, clothing, shelter, healing and protecting oneself. The training is a utilization of knowledge, skills, principles and values that assists with building and connecting into the world with a purpose beyond oneself.
The rite of passage assists youth with building self-sufficiency. This process is very difficult and it takes time for the young person to mature into it. This is achieved as youth learn and develop the ability to use all their resources effectively to build and connect into community. Throughout the process, youth need guidance and support from parents, elders, teachers, mentors and co-hearts.
Restoring Pathways of Dignity Back into Labor
Restoring pathways of dignity back into labor requires that individuals take ownership and responsibility for building an inheritance for themselves and for their communities without harming the environment. This concept can be summarized through the indigenous South African philosophy of Ubuntu. It is an isiZulu term which means ‘I am because we are’. Ubuntu highlights the symbiotic relationship between people, their livelihoods and their ecosystems; which involves solving local issues, while not compromising the needs of future generations.
One proposed pathway that will assist youth through this challenging process involves a heart (straw) connection into the world. Straw is the component within mud-built structures that provides reinforcement for structural integrity against tension. The heart connection, in comparison with straw, relates to youth that learn to navigate labor as a vehicle to work in connection with others. In this process, youth are discovering their potential and purpose. They are learning the value of working well with others and understanding the importance of seeking the guidance of their elders in order to succeed in the future.
Parents, teachers, mentors and leaders should seize opportunities to capitalize on making positive impacts into the lives of youth by redefining the current paradigm of labor. Youth would benefit from having models, instruction and practice based in indigenous principles that have sustained humans throughout the millennia.
Through Harmonic Connection PLUS’s (HC+) 3H Pre-Apprenticeship, youth (12yrs to 17yrs old) are trained to effectively work in balance with all of the tools available to them: their head (knowledge), their hands (skills) and their heart (connection to others) as a way to construct a solid reinforced foundation, which enables them to build and connect into the global community with a purpose beyond themselves. It is hands-on and online training in basic safety and construction craft work. HC+ aims to use 3H Pre-Apprenticeship workshops to create pathways of dignity back into labor as a way to positively influence America’s workforce labor crisis.
Dr. Hassan Kaya, Director of the Department of Science & Technology - National Research Foundation Centre in Indigenous Knowledge Systems, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal has prescribed five (5) indigenous principles helpful to understanding Ubuntu: Character; Brotherhood & Sisterhood; CommonGood; Social/Not Individualism & Ethics of Duty/Not Rights.
Image: Harmonic Connections PLUS visits the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Professor Kaya
About the Author
Eugene Mason III, MBA is the Co-founder of Harmonic Connections Plus (HC+) and the developer of the 3H Pre-Apprenticeship training model. Eugene has more than 20 years of experience in construction supervision involving on-site project supervision, project scheduling, quality/safety compliance, plans/specifications, conducting project team meetings, and providing creative solutions to field-related issues. He has extensive experience in construction supervision of corporate interiors and new construction commercial & townhomes projects in the greater Chicagoland area as well as retail, and medical facility renovations. Eugene has been commended for his excellent communication skills essential in managing subcontractors and related personnel for the functioning of a well-organized unit, while creating a highly productive and safe work environment as well as publishing relevant information for design professionals and stakeholders to make critical/timely decisions. Eugene holds a wide array of knowledge and experience in architecture, construction and remodeling that lends to a multi-faceted awareness of the sustainable construction/building process.
Independent Consultant to NGOs, higher education, and business
5 年An excellent, thought-provoking article, Eugene. I appreciate the contrast between labor as rite and right. You’ve nailed it!