working-class
Laborers and tradespeople
Working-class describes people who earn wages through manual or industrial labor rather than salaried professional work.
The term carries connotations of modest income, practical skills, and often a sense of authenticity or groundedness: a working-class neighborhood, working-class values.
As a noun, the working class is this social group collectively, sometimes invoked politically as a constituency whose interests differ from elites.
Laborers lacking capital ownership
- socialismCommunal economic control
- MarxismClass-based revolutionary philosophy
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
- exploitationSelfish use of others
organizing · populism · collectivism · redistribution · equity · representation · disenfranchised · activism
Manual labor workforce
- salt-of-the-earthFundamentally good, dependable person
- everymanOrdinary representative person
- humbleUnassuming about oneself
- unpretentiousLacking false superiority
practical · down-to-earth · no-frills · grit · dignity · authenticity · overalls · workboots
Physical task performer
- mechanicVehicle maintenance professional
- plumberWater system tradesperson
- electricianWiring installation specialist
- carpenterTimber construction tradesperson
welder · machinist · mason · technician · operator · foreman · craftsman · assembler
Joining into one
- wagesPayment for work
- overtimeWork beyond scheduled hours
- shiftMovement or work period
- paycheckCompensation for labor
hourly · apprentice · journeyman · strike · picket · seniority · benefits · pension
Earning below average wages
- povertySevere lack of resources
- struggleLabored effort against resistance
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
- breadwinnerPrimary household earner
debt · affordable · welfare · precarious · underemployed · disadvantaged · bootstrapping · hand-to-mouth
Residential area nearby
- solidarityUnity among allies
- tight-knitClosely and firmly united
- rowhousesAdjacent attached urban homes
- tenementMulti-unit urban dwelling
local · grassroots · kinship · pub · church · stoop · communal · resilient
proletariat
Laborers lacking capital ownership
- socialismCommunal economic control
- MarxismClass-based revolutionary philosophy
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
exploitation · organizing · populism · collectivism · redistribution · equity · representation · disenfranchised · activism · rank-and-file
blue-collar
Manual labor workforce
- salt-of-the-earthFundamentally good, dependable person
- everymanOrdinary representative person
- humbleUnassuming about oneself
unpretentious · practical · down-to-earth · no-frills · grit · dignity · authenticity · overalls · workboots
laborer
Physical task performer
- mechanicVehicle maintenance professional
- plumberWater system tradesperson
- electricianWiring installation specialist
carpenter · welder · machinist · mason · technician · operator · foreman · craftsman · assembler · millworker
union
Joining into one
paycheck · hourly · apprentice · journeyman · strike · picket · seniority · benefits · pension · layoff
low-income
Earning below average wages
- povertySevere lack of resources
- struggleLabored effort against resistance
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
breadwinner · debt · affordable · welfare · precarious · underemployed · disadvantaged · bootstrapping · hand-to-mouth
neighborhood
Residential area nearby
- solidarityUnity among allies
- tight-knitClosely and firmly united
- rowhousesAdjacent attached urban homes
tenement · local · grassroots · kinship · pub · church · stoop · communal · resilient · pride
- wealth statuspoor, rich, wealthy, affluent, low income
- working-classblue-collar, diner, laundromat, corner store, dive bar
- commonerscommoner, commoners, peasant, peasants, common people
working-classupper-class
Socially and economically privileged
wealthy · elite · aristocratic · rich · upper-crust
working-classcapitalist
Private ownership supporter
bourgeoisie · rentier · propertied · landowning · managerial
working-classwhite-collar
Office work designation
professional · executive · managerial · corporate · clerical
work, class, worker, working, workers, classify, classmate, workmanship, working class