I worked with quite a few "born in a America" dudes...and some guy's born south of the border too. Circa 1980...
The pay was good....it was manual labor but we were glad to have the work.
Manual labor is good for the soul and good for building character.
I like it that I can drive past some of my former projects and worksites of almost 30 years ago. Even if all I did was dig ditches, haul greasy concrete forms like a mule, and stand behind a pneumatic jackhammer for 8 hours a day.