Sen. Whitehouse Tours a Business That's Growing, Hiring and Proud to Be

The inconspicuous small business cul-de-sac between Waterman and Taunton avenues received a high profile visitor in U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D), who toured Wednesday afternoon. The visit was an attempt by the senator to take an in-person pulse of his home state's economy.

Whitehouse began his time at the jewelry manufacturing facility receiving an overview of the business from owner John Medeiros and his daughter, Sales Coordinator Nina Medeiros. The company's manufacturing portion of the operation is referred to as Tahoe Jewelry Inc., in contrast to its actual line of jewelry named after its owner, under the same business umbrella.

Optimism surrounding jobs in a still struggling economy defined the intimate tour, as Whitehouse learned of the company's four-year growth trend, along with the proud proclamation from Medeiros himself that his company is "still hiring."

Before weaving through spotlessly clean hallways that revealed break rooms, work benches and walk-in ovens, Sen. Whitehouse asked why Medieros chooses to manufacture his jewelry on-site at the hands of experienced craftsmen and women as opposed to "China or Vietnam." Medeiros said he doesn't believe in importing his product.

"The things you buy [from overseas], they look great from far away, but when you wear them they feel cheap," Medeiros said. "I feel responsibility for these people here. I want to keep jobs in America."

Medeiros has certainly done that and more. For a Wednesday, when most employees elsewhere are succumbing to midweek blues, his facility is teeming with busy hands and wide smiles.

This, Nina Medeiros says, is a product of her father's vision, not only for a strong company, but an almost protective stance on employer to employee relations.

"We started cross-training everyone a few years ago," she said. "It's not only good for efficiency, but it's good for our people, too. It's less boring, there's more attention to detail and overall quality."

One team member got a chance to showcase his talent. Sen. Whitehouse entered a side room in which Sergei Sharenho, master model maker, tinkered away on a silver design. When asked by the senator if everything he fashioned was an original design, he laughingly replied: "Yes. Why do you think I have no hair on my head?"

After the tour, the senator said his experience at Medeiros Jewelry reinforced his views on what government must do on a federal level.

"It's good to come and see a business like this that is growing in Rhode Island, even in this economy," Sen. Whitehouse said. "It shows that the prospects are really good if we can improve the conditions."

Sen. Whitehouse added that he is hoping that when the Senate begins session in September, they will "move straight to a jobs agenda" which would "overlap a lot with the 'Make It in America Agenda', " a Democrat-endorsed plan to reestablish a manufacturing sector within America. Sen. Whitehouse also referenced the "HIRE Act," a bill which he is lobbying for in the legislature. The bill would provide a 15 percent refundable tax credit for what businesses spend on a new hire in 2011 and 10 percent in 2012.

The senator said his time in East Providence influenced his sense of what is possible in the economy, overall.

"[Being in East Providence today] provides an exclamation point on what the possibilities are," Whitehouse said. "Here's a company that for four straight years has grown, through the recession. It's hiring. It's found a very good product niche for itself. It's very successful. And it shows the last thing we should be doing is throwing up our hands and saying, 'oh we can't manufacture in America anymore, let's just sell each other cheeseburgers'."