Yeah, "owner" is much better.
I worked in a sawmill for many years. The hydraulic device that turned the logs on the carriage was called the nigger. That’s just what it was called. Nobody thought anything of it.
One day, one of the bigshots came around and somebody mentioned that we were having trouble with the nigger. We were informed on the spot that from that time forward, we were to call it the “log turner”. The bigshot left and we kept using the “n-word” for the hydraulic device that turned the logs on the carriage. To the best of my knowledge, no feelings were hurt in the process.
I wonder what the PC name would be for a pitman.