Chinese汉语 term (edited): ����

supervisor/foreman(woman)/leading hand (team leader)/senior workmate

As 留学生,we used to call the janitor/concierge at our uni dorm in Beijing, 师傅...they possibly still do today. At that time 师傅 was not a general form of address.

It is a respectful term, some deference is implied, therefore in this case I expect it is the worker's senior or supervisor.

Here's the dictionary (1995):

师傅 = 1 master worker (a qualified worker as distinct from an apprentice) 2 a respectful form of address for a skilled worker 3 (inf) a form of address for any stranger

Hope this helps...

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Note added at 1 day 52 mins (2005-07-30 00:36:59 GMT)
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it is just referring to one of the more experienced workers, I believe. You may find something more specific earlier in the text - maybe a name. 师傅 stands for someone, both speaker and hearer know who it is, most probably. replace 师傅说 with 老师说 for the same effect. ie generally which teacher it is is understood, ie my class teacher, the classroom teacher, the teacher I asked about this, the teacher I talked to about this

so you could translate it as \'the workmate/person I asked/spoke to about this said...\' that might be enough? or \'One of my (more senior) workmates/the (more senior) workmate told me...