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There is no such thing as unskilled labor.
people always say this, but I don't recall anybody proposing a better term
I agree with your statement, but I recognize that the term "unskilled" in this context means something different than you and I would like it to
This is a very optimistic but ultimately baseless “feel-good” take.
I don’t think we should discount the importance of unskilled labor, or even its difficulty, but unskilled labor most certainly does exist.
Eh. There are definitely jobs that you can grab random guys off the street for and they will be okay enough at them to get started right away or will be able to be trained to do them in an afternoon. Think of any time you've done a volunteering project - you don't get any specialized training to do this type of work, but you can go ahead and get started with maybe like a short explanation of how it works. Sure you won't be as good as a pro, but you could get up to speed quite quickly if it was all you were doing. These types of jobs are becoming less and less common as they get automated, but they do still exist. That is what is meant by "unskilled labor." It's not a dig at the people who do these types of jobs, but rather that you don't need specialized training to do them.
Just because the skills required for a job are very common doesn't mean the labor is unskilled. That is a myth made up by the 1% to divide the working class and pit us against each other.
You're trying to make a weird semantic distinction that doesn't really accomplish anything. Unskilled labor doesn't mean undignified or unworthy of respect, it is just a description of a certain kind of work with essentially no barrier to entry. Again it's very uncommon in modern advanced economies but in the past (and today in some very poor areas) you'd have people whose job it was to push millstones around in a circle all day, a job that is also done by literal donkeys. That is not skilled labor.
Then you should see me when I try to repair something
Any job will require a mix of hard and soft skills. Both are important, and both need training.
It takes zero skill to pickup a box and move it. skill
Skill
[skil]/ skɪl /
noun
the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well.
Carpentry was one of his many skills.
Synonyms:facility, proficiencyAntonyms:inability
competent excellence in performance; expertness; dexterity.
The dancers performed with skill.
Synonyms:cleverness, deftness
a craft, trade, or job requiring manual dexterity or special training in which a person has competence and experience.
the skill of cabinetmaking.
Origin and history of skill
skill(n.)
early 12c., "knowledge, divine wisdom;" late 12c., "power of discernment, sound judgment; that which is reasonable," senses all now obsolete, from Old Norse skil "distinction, ability to make out, discernment, adjustment," which is related to skilja (v.) "to separate; discern, understand," from Proto-Germanic *skaljo- "divide, separate" (source also of Swedish skäl "reason," Danish skjel "a separation, boundary, limit," Middle Low German schillen "to differ," Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schele "separation, discrimination;" from PIE root *skel- (1) "to cut").
Haha, bunch of people got their knkckers in a twist cause they don't like being schooled on how wrong they are.
Guess what? The guy who picks up boxes ask day for a job will do it better and faster than you. That fits perfectly with your definition of "skill".
I have absolutly seen people who are unskilled at picking up and moving boxes. It's not a task with a high skill floor, or a particularily high skill ceiling, but it exists.
And somehow my company has been uniformly capable of identifying and hiring these people.
As someone who's had multiple surgeries that forced them to re-learn how to use their own muscles, anything that requires purposeful muscle movement is a skill. And even if it wasn't, there aren't any jobs that have you move a box. There are, however, jobs that require you to move a box to a specific known location without breaking the contents of the box, which is a skill.
Sorry, no. If you can train someone how to do the job within an afternoon, it's not the kind of "skilled" people are talking about. Moving like a healthy human is not a skill. We are built to carry things. Being pedantic about it helps no one.
Just look at the comment I responded to for the definition; if you're doing an activity well, it's a skill. You might disagree, but that's between you and the dictionary. The rest of us will be here working on making sure people are paid well regardless of whether or not you think their work isn't "skilled" enough.