[Jewelry making - Article 00296] - Re: [Orchid] Bench jeweler's working conditions

[David L. Huffman]

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Hi Stanley;

>     "Capitalist" is a funny word. It depicts pictures of two big fat
>     guys wearing top hats and suits, smoking cigars, and laughing all
>     the way to the bank. 

    Don't put too much into my use of that word. I call myself a
    capitalist too. I'm also a laborer, and always will be. I like
    working with my hands more than I like running a business. And like
    you, I did the long hard climb from the sweatshops (real ones, raided
    periodically by the INS and everything!), all the way to owning my
    own business. Took 30 years too. 

    All I mean is this; the employee brings his or her talent, skills,
    training, experience, work ethic, attitude, and spends his or her
    life helping the business owner make money. That's their part of the
    deal. In return, the owner provides the work space, the tools, the
    jobs to do, and then shares the income of the business in the form of
    wages and benefits (if he can afford them). That's the age old
    labor/capital arraignment, and it's a good one (with a few caveats).
    And I'm only interested in a jeweler who wants to constantly improve
    his or her skills. I think I should look at my contribution, the work
    space, the tools, even the kinds of work, in the same way. Constantly
    striving for improvement, and for one reason only. More money! Well,
    actually, I do put a lot of credit towards the idea of job
    satisfaction, although that can be elusive. And if I've got skilled
    people, I want their feet nailed to the floor. Even to the point of
    trying to distract them from the drudgery. So I try to cover all
    bases. A little raise, a better chair, satellite radio in the shop, a
    workshop or a class, a bonus for the hell of it, whatever works. 

    But I agree with your previous post. If they want lace curtains, cat
    calendars, room deodorizers, I don't much care, but they can do that
    themselves. I wouldn't have understood your point if you hadn't
    described a very enviable shop of your own. I never had anything like
    that to work in in my 30 years of working retail. Just miserable,
    dark, toxic little hot boxes and broken down tools. Air conditioning?
    Fuggetaboudit. I thought you meant they ought to build their own
    benches, or pour the concrete floor. Don't laugh, I've had bosses who
    thought that way (and drove Jaguars). I've got some great stories.
    But most of my shop decor is just sensible stuff like good lighting,
    solid flooring, ventilation, space enough to stay organized and not
    bump into each other, no rats or roaches, no gunfire. 

    Since I work at the bench too, I have to work in the same space as
    my jewelers, and I got tired of all the distractions of lousy spaces
    and poor equipment. The work is struggle enough. There's plenty of
    room for improvement, but it's just so much easier to do this work in
    a proper work space, with proper tools, and that means income to me.
    Sounds like you are describing my life to a "T", the phone calls, the
    taxes, "oh, and can we have this job back yesterday?", etc. Best of
    luck finding a new jeweler. 

David L. Huffman
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