In the developed world (esp. the US), the hammer and sickle, symbols of labor, are not actually used that widely anymore. Industrial monocrop mechanised agriculture and assembly-line manufacturing processes, as well as the use of robotics means most workers are no longer swinging a hammer or sickle as they produce goods, such as food, for the society. tl;dr: As manual labor has changed in the US & developed countries, does this well-recognized Communist symbol need updating?
Yeah I understand the worker symbolism with the hammer & sickle. Love it, but why should work be the focus? I mean, with automation and the productive forces currently deployed we could all be looking at massively reduced work weeks. That's why I like the just the plain red flag (or the red/black flag, also very good).