Dalton says elevator installers and repairers are well-rounded trade workers who never stop learning.

FORBES: America's Best-Paying Blue-Collar Jobs

"We might as well bring back the ice and the elevator operators, " he added, referring to two symbols of the old days: daily deliveries of ice to every congressional office, and automated elevators so lawmakers wouldn't have to push buttons.

NPR: DeLay's Precarious Strategy for Survival

It is a popular concept -- earlier this year, students at Columbia Business School took part in a pitch competition in which the pleas for investment were actually delivered in an elevator, although these were filmed rather than having all the judges crammed inside as well.

CNN: Going up! The elevator pitch