Zeal: The Difference Between a Job and a Calling

There is a word we don’t use much anymore. Zeal is energy rooted in belief. It’s the difference between showing up and building something. It’s the difference between punching a clock and protecting a standard.

And right now, across industries and across generations, there’s a growing narrative that “people don’t want to work anymore.” That narrative misses the mark. Workers have not lost the ability to work hard. What many have lost is zeal. Zeal doesn’t thrive in environments where effort feels disconnected from outcome. It doesn’t survive long in systems that feel unstable, impersonal, or transactional. And it certainly doesn’t grow where workers feel disposable.

But the truth is, Zeal has always been the driving force behind union labor. Our wages weren’t negotiated by people going through the motions.
Our safety standards weren’t won by apathy.
Our contracts weren’t protected by indifference. They were built by men and women who believed the work mattered. Not just the job, the standard. There’s a difference. A job is what you do to get paid.
A standard is what you defend so the next worker stands on higher ground.

Zeal is what makes a skilled trade more than labor. It’s pride in craftsmanship. It’s mentoring the apprentice. It’s holding the line when shortcuts are easier. It’s attending meetings when you’re tired. It’s voting. It’s participating. It’s stepping up instead of watching from the sidelines. Zeal is not loud. It is steady. And here’s the uncomfortable part, zeal is contagious, but so is disengagement. If we want a stronger local, a stronger industry, and stronger contracts, we cannot wait for inspiration to arrive from somewhere else. Leadership is not a title. It’s participation. Solidarity is not a slogan. It’s action. No one builds momentum alone.

When members participate by asking questions, volunteering, attending meetings, mentoring new hires, and holding management accountable through the process, standards improve. When members disengage and only participate from the outside, standards erode quietly.

The future of our Local will not be decided by headlines or corporate decisions. It will be decided by whether we approach our trade and our Union with zeal. The belief that what we do matters and that collective effort multiplies strength. We have the skill.
We have the contracts.
We have the history.

The question is whether we still have the zeal. Let’s build like we do.

-Roonie