When I Was a Dishwasher at a Restaurant
Channel: John Sakars
Date: 12/09/2020

Way back when I was a teenager, 
I washed dishes in a restaurant. 
One day I got asked by a manager
to climb right up into the ceiling.

There was an electrical problem.
He wanted me to go find it. 
Asked me to play with the wires. 
Wiggle them and find a short. 

So, I climbed a ladder.
Moved a ceiling tile.
Put my hands onto beams.
Climbed up into the ceiling.

I walked very, very carefully.
One wrong step, and I would fall right through the
ceiling and land in the dining room.
Maybe land on someone's table. 

Up there, I searched long and hard.
Could not find the shorted wire.
So, I told the manager, 
I cannot find the problem. 

He got on the telephone.
Called an electrician. 
Then I went right back to 
washing all the dishes.

After work, I went home and told my 
family about my day at work. 
They were angry that the manager
had asked me to do something dangerous
just to save money. 
Why call an electrician, 
when you can just ask the dishwasher 
who is getting paid minimum wage? 
I thought I'd write a song about this, 
to spread a message about workplace safety. 

If your employer asks you to do 
something unsafe that could injure you,  
you can say, "No thanks, I will not do that.
Please call somebody who is qualified." 

The ability to say "no" is 
an important life skill.
Don't let people coerce you 
to do things you don't want to do.

Workplace health and safety. 
It is very important.  
Please look out for yourself
and all your coworkers.