An Organization of Labor: Laissez-Faire and Marchandage in the Paris Building Trades through 1848

Abstract

Martin Nadaud, the migrant mason from Creuse whose memoirs are well known, describes among his experiences a flirtation with being a tacheron (subcontractor) in Paris during the July Monarchy.' Subcontracting was one of the few avenues of advancement open to workers and, for migrants like Nadaud, nearly the only escape from the uncertainty of the daily hiring fair at the Place de Greve that was his usual venue. Eager to make good money, in 1841 or 1842 the mason announced to friends that he intended to generate work (entreprendre) as a construction subcontractor. Together with a friend, Nadaud drummed up jobs by seeking out contacts he had made in more than a decade of work in Paris. The two masons eventually arranged a small contract through an architect they knew, and soon thereafter the partners took on a bigger project (reworking a facade on the rue de l'Observatoire). Altogether, they spent nearly two years as tacherons. In the end, the change from worker to subcontractor was not materially rewarding for Nadaud, who attributed the results to bad luck and bad weather. The mason also was unhappy with his position as singe (a derogatory term for boss) to those persons working for him. A bit humbled by the experience, his conscience bothered by a sense of infidelity to fellow workers, Nadaud gave up subcontracting and went back to work