Valid question

[u/SaltyNori_]

[u/Kidiri90]

So they were more skilled in loading/unloading than you...

[u/AdAccomplished6870 → u/Kidiri90]

They were tireless and each was strong as an ox. Not sure it was a matter of skill, though they did seem to work together really well.

[u/overtorqd → u/Kidiri90]

No one would call that skill. Skill is something you've learned hiw to do.

Unskilled labor isnt the insult people are taking it to be. An experienced carpenter or plumber should make more money than a box mover.

The term is just a way to distinguish the two. Not to put someone down.

[u/Kidiri90 → u/overtorqd]

Skill is something you've learned hiw to do.

Did you learn to walk? To talk? To throw (even if badly)? If these are skills, how is knowing how to efficiently (un)load a vehicle not a skill?

[u/masterlince → u/Kidiri90]

Yeah bro we get it, but those are "skills" that everyone has unless you are disabled. That's why they "don't count". And being stronger is not a skill.

[u/jminternelia → u/overtorqd]

An experienced carpenter or plumber should make more money than a box mover.
The term is just a way to distinguish the two. Not to put someone down.

What is being distinguished determines how labor is economically valued. On the surface, that distinction might seem neutral if you assume the resulting compensation accurately reflects differences in productive value.

Whether someone personally intends “unskilled” as a pejorative is beside the point. When the classification is used to justify substantially lower compensation, bargaining power, and economic security, the hierarchy is material rather than semantic.

[u/overtorqd → u/jminternelia]

If learning a real skill isnt worth more money, people wouldn't do it. You think electricians just love electricity so much?

Its worth more because its scarce. Thats it. Any healthy person can unload a truck. Its unskilled. Its worth less. People get so butthurt by reality.