Does anybody in the United States actually get a shovel and dig a ditch for a living?
I don't believe I've EVER seen that in real life anywhere in this country.
I have seen highly paid union guys with giant bulldozers digging ditches right here in Las Vegas (flood control). And I've seen highly paid guys with bulldozers digging ditches in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Mississippi, Alabama, and lots of other states I've lived in.
But NEVER saw a guy with a shovel digging a ditch and getting paid for it.