Mike Rowe, host of ‘Deadliest Catch’ and ‘Dirty Jobs,’ called out Americans for their lack of appreciation of blue-collar workers who help keep the country running.
Rowe joined host Sean Hannity on Friday’s airing of Hannity to promote the new season of his other show ‘How America Works.’
He said Americans are becoming less outwardly appreciative of blue-collar and gray-collar jobs, including those in trades, agriculture, manufacturing and farming.
‘There are two different things. Realization and appreciation,’ Rowe told Hannity when asked if he thought Americans appreciate the blue-collar workforce.
‘Most of us have never really realized it, but we’ve always intuitively appreciated it. We know that when we flip the switch and the light comes on, that that’s the result of a miracle. And that miracle is made possible by men and women doing things out of sight and out of mind.’
But Rowe said what he worries about is the ‘overall lack of appreciation that has infected society over the last 30 or 40 years.’
He then pointed out that his programs are an attempt to ‘tap the country on the shoulder’ to help it have a ‘fundamental appreciation’ for the kinds of jobs – which are often dangerous – that make ‘civilized life possible for the rest of us.’
Rowe went on to say that forgetting the importance of these trades and a continuing lack of appreciation, will lead to a list of unintended consequences ‘longer than my arm.’
Rowe’s show Deadliest Catch features workers who put their lives in danger as dozens of boats set out to sea off the coast of Alaska every winter for crab fishery in one of the most dangerous lines of work in the country.
On the program Friday, Rowe also admitted that remote work in a post-COVID America has sparked a new appreciation for telecom workers, who work round the clock to make sure fiberoptics and communication channels are sound.
‘I think in a lot of ways, COVID gave us a wake-up call, but I’m afraid it did something else, too, honestly,’ Rowe said.
‘I’ll tell you what nobody’s talking about,’ Rowe continued. ‘No one is talking about the 7 million able-bodied men who are not only unemployed today, but who have affirmatively left the workforce.’
According to a press release, an upcoming episode of Rowe’s How America Works will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the critical work performed by Watco, a leading transportation and logistics services company, to keep the supply chain moving.
Five Watco team members will be featured in the program, which chronicles the work of Americans in essential trades.
‘Mike Rowe shows the men and women who do the hard work people don’t see,’ said Ernie Farrand, vice president of Greens Port.
‘Being featured on ‘How America Works’ is an exciting opportunity for Watco and our team members. When consumers pick a product off a shelf, hundreds of people have worked around the clock in all kinds of weather to make that simple act possible. We’re very proud to show off what our Greens Port team does to keep products and supplies moving to the people who need them.’
Rowe is also the founder of MikeRoweWORKS in Baltimore, Maryland – an organization that helps the next generation find blue collar jobs.
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