Blue Collar Worker

by Eleanor West

“There’s a lot to be said in producing a product that everybody enjoys and uses. We used to have pride in blue collar workers.”

Eleanor: As a kid, one thing that I always knew was that my dad’s job was hard, and most days he came home tired. But I also knew that he loved his work. He works as head brewer at Anchor Brewing Company and has done blue collar work or physical labor in some form for his entire life. He thinks this is because of the high respect for blue collar work in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio.

Dad: Yeah. I grew up in Dayton, Ohio and I think that's where I might've found my… my affinity for blue collar work. Dayton, Ohio is a very blue collar town. It’s well known in the 70s for General Motors, and Frigidaire and NCR.

Eleanor: I ask him what keeps him going when the labor is exhausting. He speaks on the attitude towards blue collar work.

Dad: I’m proud of what I make and I know people like it, and it’s a well-made product and people appreciate it. There is a divide between white collar and blue collar—

Eleanor: In terms of social classes?

Dad: Yes. I have reached a point in my life where I am pretty sure… I am sure I'll be working blue collar for the rest of my life and I’ve been working blue collar for the bulk of my life. When it comes down to it and you have a family, and you… and you have to take care of that family, sometimes you don’t have a choice. And—

Eleanor: Or just take care of yourself even.

Dad: Or take care of yourself for that matter, yeah. San Francisco used to be quite a blue collar city, but it changed along the lines with tech, and white collar and—

Eleanor: Gentrification?

Dad: And gentrification. And… and so a lot, if not most of the blue collar jobs left the city. And now it’s really, really hard for somebody to make a living as a blue collar worker in San Francisco. So there’s very few of us. There's a lot to be said in producing a product that everybody enjoys and uses, and we used to have a pride in blue collar workers. Yes.

Eleanor: In other words, what my dad is saying is that we, as in blue color workers as a whole, matter. We deserve respect. Our work is beautiful, and difficult and important, and we will not be discarded or pushed out. We cannot be replaced. At the end of the day, we are a crucial and wonderful part of San Francisco.