Introducing Blue Collar 101

Labor has become an important topic here at the Museum. After all, in 1821, the first industrial strike in the U.S. happened right here, at the Boston Manufacturing Company. While visitors first notice the machinery and other industrial artifacts on display in the Museum, it’s the stories of the people who made and used them that are the most important. It’s the reason “Innovation “ is part of our name. People drive the creativity and ingenuity that those machines have made possible.

So we are excited to begin a new public education event series called Blue Collar 101. At a moment when conversations about workforce development and the future of work often happen without workers in the room, this program starts from a different premise:

The people who build, maintain, and repair the physical world are experts, and their knowledge deserves a public platform.

Each session spotlights a different trade or type of industrial work, including those that keep our electrical grid powered, water flowing, transit systems running on time, and our modern world functioning.

Our inaugural session, Building Trades & the Path Through Apprenticeship, is Thursday, May 7th, 7PM. Joining us will be members of Local 339 of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, who will offer a policy and workforce perspective on how apprenticeship programs function across the Commonwealth.

Expect honest, ground-level discussion about what the work looks like day to day, how skills are acquired, what the apprenticeship pipeline actually offers, and what the public often gets wrong about the trades.

Upcoming Blue Collar 101 talks will present workers from Boston Water and Sewer and engineers for Keolis/MBTA Commuter Rail. Look for dates and further info soon!

Like our popular Mill Talks, Blue Collar 101 is FREE to the Public, thanks to the support of the Lowell Institute, but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.