Category: Blog

Mike Gives Dear Abby Advice to a Fan

Shari

Saturday Mail Call Hey Mike! I’ve spent this last year trying to figure out the right career for myself and I still can’t figure out what to do. I have always been a hands on kind of guy and a go-getter. I could never be an office worker. I need change, excitement, and adventure in my life, but where the pay is steady. I grew up in construction and my first job was a restoration project. I love everything outdoors. I play music for extra money. I like trying pretty much everything, but get bored very easily. I want a Read More

Guess What? It’s National Lineman Appreciation Day

Shari

Swear to God. Last year, the Senate passed Resolution 95, which officially designates April 18th as the day in which all sane and thoughtful Americans should pause to recognize both the profession and the individual contributions of linemen. Of course, the absurd thing about this Resolution, is that it only sets aside one day for said recognition. One day? Seriously? What are they thinking? This should be a month long event. A week at the very least! Here’s the deal – if all the linemen (and women) called in sick for just one day, things would get very cold, very Read More

Navy SEALS Bearing Gifts!

Shari

On any given day, you never know who is going to walk into mikeroweWORKS World Headquarters, or what they’re going to be holding. Here for instance, is Captain Duncan Smith of The Naval Special Warfare Recruiting Directorate. Captain Smith is a Navy SEAL. He stopped by the other day to present me with an official Navy Seal Flipper. It’s a very nice flipper, studier than most, and made of what appears to be vulcanized rubber. Unlike most other flippers, this one has a plaque on it, thanking me for a small service I was happy to offer the SEALS last Read More

Mike in This Months “At Home in Berks” Magazine

Shari

Mike wrote an article for the Home Builder Association of Berks magazine “At Home in Berks” about the worst advice he ever received. He explains why “Work Smart Not Hard” is such a dangerous concept, and why he believes “Work Smart AND Hard” is just the message our country needs to hear. Read an  online version of the article here. Support the mikeroweWORKS Foundation by purchasing a “Work Smart AND Hard Poster”

We Need More Dam Workers

Shari

One of the fun but annoying things about being me is the inability to read a simple headline without becoming immediately transported to a specific moment on Dirty Jobs. Here for instance, is an article about the men who maintain the Hoover Dam – one of the greatest engineering and architectural wonders of the modern era. Apparently, a big chunk of these men are about to retire. And guess what? There’s no one to replace them! This is potentially unfortunate news for the many millions of Americans currently addicted to the electricity provided by The Hoover Dam. For that reason, I Read More

Want to Know what Led to Dirty Jobs & the Destruction of my Prior Career?

Shari

Dirty Jobs has been out of production for two years now, but not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me, “How did such a disgusting show ever get on the air?” Until now, that’s a question I’ve traditionally deflected. Partly because the answer involves a sewer, a rat, countless condoms, several million roaches, many hundreds of tampons, vomit, urine, and a slow moving river of crap that very nearly swallowed me up. It’s also mildly redemptive, as such stories go. And completely true. If you’re interested in the truth about the precise circumstances that led to Dirty Jobs, Read More

OFF THE WALL: Regarding For Profit Technical Schools

Shari

Today’s comment off the wall comes from David Brugh. “Mike – what’s your take on the Feds calling technical schools “for-profit” and claiming these schools are predatory? I think – and my teenagers, for whom your mikeroweworks campaign has really resonated – think this is bullcrap.” Hi David – I think your kids have summed it up nicely! Many technical schools are in fact, “for profit.” But comparing a for-profit trade school to a for-profit, on-line university is a bit like confusing Robinson Caruso with Gilligan. True, they were both castaways, living on an island. But beyond that… At issue, Read More

OFF THE WALL: Ottawa Shop Class Crisis

Shari

  Today’s Off the Wall comes from Shelby, and a few hundred others who posted similar comments about a situation in Illinois. Shelby says: “Quite a story brewing in small town Ottawa, Illinois after the high school board voted for raises for the administration then cut the building trades class. Students, parents and tradesman protest. 2 days in a row now. Local business owners send food etc…” Here is the full article from the local Times’ website Quite a story indeed, Shelby. Thanks for posting. Couple thoughts. In general, I don’t support many protests. I don’t object to them – protests Read More

PEOPLE MAGAZINE AND THE PASSING OF MRS. P

Shari

Back in Community College, I had a journalism teacher named Paula Pumphrey. We called her Mrs. P, and she was fantastic. Once, I turned in a feature story that I felt was maybe the best thing I’d ever written. In particular, I thought my first sentence really sang… “On a misty morning in Southern Maryland, Mitchell Mycroft made a massive miscalculation – a mathematical mistake that be remembered as a marvelous misstep in modern manufacturing.” Mrs. P circled the entire sentence with a red marker and wrote in the margin, “ALLITERATION ALMOST ALWAYS ANNOYS!!!” She was right of course, and Read More

There’s No Such Thing as Free Press

Shari

I’m back. Three days of press, five hours of sleep, four bottles of wine, a speech, a job offer, 5,000 form letters, and a couple of good-natured death threats. All because of a commercial that I narrated about American manufacturing paid for by Walmart. Press tours are fun! Oscar Wilde said, “the only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you.” I don’t know that I agree with Oscar, but one thing’s for sure – there’s no such thing as “free press.” I just Googled myself and the results are too rich to ignore. Let’s Read More

Take Heart!

Shari

After a lot of careful reflection regarding the 7 million page views and 20,000 comments over the last few days, I’ve decided to provide a link to something that has nothing to do with Walmart, capitalism, socialism, unions, right-to-work, income distribution, liberals, low prices, low wages, skilled labor, welfare, conservatives, rich people, poor people, public relations, off-shoring, on-shoring, minimum wage, living-wage, commercial television, China, or my personal views on the changing face of the modern-day proletariat. Here it is – Dance Like Nobody’s Watching: Airport With nearly 6 million views, the odds are very good that many of you have Read More

Mike Rowe’s Response to Facebook Comments on Walmart Commercial Voiceover

Shari

Here is post #1 of 3 on Facebook regarding the Facebook response to Mike’s Walmart voiceover commercial, February 9, 2014 Last night during the Olympics, a commercial started running called “I Am a Factory.” It’s part of a larger campaign sponsored by Walmart, called “Work is a Beautiful Thing.” The commercial features real people doing real work in real factories all across America. It’s not very glamorous, but it’s honest and authentic, and I was honored to narrate it.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OQcoDQq3-o Today, I see that some people are calling for my head. Other’s want me to run for office. And some have Read More