John Capistrant

I sat down with John on a quiet secluded table in the basement of Coffman. We are both sophomores at the U. We took turns interviewing each other, getting perspectives of our individual views about the environment of work.
We chatted for a bit before we got down to business. The first thing I asked John was how he felt about unions as my own employment involves working with union members. “I respect that they want better working conditions for their employees. However, if someone refuses to join a union they are considered a scab; if you don’t join you can’t work there. So I guess I would say that I am indifferent towards unions.”
John is not “technically” working at this time; he is focusing on school. “Being a student is a lot of work, and is a job in itself. Professors are like bosses, some can be understanding and some not. You need to learn how to understand where they are coming from, just as you would a boss. You need a job so you have to find the way to keep it; most of the time this requires giving your boss what he wants.”
John is caretaker of his grandpa’s property and also is the president of the pro-life club on campus. These jobs require a lot of time and hard work, and in the later, John has many responsibilities such as advertising, taking care of the budget and trying to set an example as a leader.
John shared a story with me about one of his previous jobs. “Four years ago I had a grass cutting job for which I got paid a fixed salary of forty-five dollars per month. I got let go because the guy who owned the property could not afford to pay me anymore; he let the tenants do the grass cutting.”
John is happy with his job situation at present. He gets paid thirty dollars for cutting lots for his grandpa and five dollars for every fifteen minutes of work shoveling lots 60 X 80. “I see it as good money; I have not had a real job yet, but I am ok with that for now. I live at home and have grants and scholarships. I don’t yet have to worry about the normal expenses for the necessities of life such as rent, loans and gas money.” John is frugal with his money; “I think about things before I buy them, I don’t spend money willy nilly.” (*laughs* “I like that term, willy nilly.”)
One of the last things I asked John was what he would like to see as far as changes in the work environment. “I would like to see a friendly working environment, but still firm. I think all workers are entitled to the same amount of breaks; smokers are allowed extra breaks but non smokers are not, and that is not fair at all.”
John also thinks that employees who “fill in” for someone who has called in sick should get a raise or at least overtime. He told me a story about the company where his dad is employed. One of his dad’s coworkers had a heart attack and his dad filled in for him. His dad does a lot of extra work for his company; he arrives home late and does not receive extra pay for any of this.
Finally, I asked John what he likes to do in his free time.
John is a very compassionate person. He takes the time to volunteer, packing food for starving children in 3rd world countries. He’s an active member of the Catholic groups on campus which includes singing at masses and recently being a cast member in a pro-life musical entitled Jenny. John also enjoys visiting his Grandpa’s cabin in Osceola; it’s a peaceful place where he can go hiking and four wheeling to relax from the stresses of school and city life.
John and I are in the same project group, and I feel like we have gotten to know each other fairly well this semester. However, doing this interview was interesting because I felt like the time we spent on it really gave us a chance to see another side of each other that often does not come up in general conversation. Discussing views goes below the surface and ads depth to our understanding of another person.