This morning while working my weekend restaurant job (I have three other jobs, LOL) I was asked to train a new employee on how to wash dishes and clean in a commercial kitchen. He was very young—only 14 years old—and this is his first job. I showed him how to fill up the three compartment sink with soapy dish water, rinse water, and sanitizer water, and shared a few tricks for quickly knocking out a big pile of dishes. I taught him how to use sanitizer to wipe everything down in the kitchen, and how to quickly sweep a floor. It was obvious he had little experience doing similar work at home. Apparently, some of the other workers had tried to train him on another day, but lacked the patience to work with him. He was very child-like, and kept getting off-track when I would set him to work doing something. I suspect he may have a mild learning disability.
Once he realized I was not going to snap his head off every time he made a mistake or got a little off track, he warmed up to me and started talking to me about his life. He is a freshman in high school and has a younger sister at home, along with his mom. His mom works at both a local grocery store, and at another fast food restaurant here in town. He mentioned that his dad lives in Louisville with his girlfriend, but he rarely sees him.
Then I asked him what he was going to do with his first paycheck. I expected he would say he was going to buy a video game or Christmas gifts, or go out with his friends. He instead told me he was going to have to take his paycheck and give it to his mom to help pay bills, because he said she does not make enough to cover rent, utilities, and food for her family, even working two jobs. He said his paycheck was going to cover their electric bill this month.
What a good kid. What a damn crying shame a child is having to work at a crap job in a fast food restaurant in order for his family to scrape by. He should be able to focus on the things most other 14 year old boys get to focus on, like sports or playing video games or school, instead of worrying about whether or not he would make enough to keep his household’s electricity from being shut off. After that, I tried to steer the conversation away from talking about his family, and instead, just talked to him about work related stuff.
At around 1 pm, he went on his lunch break, and by that time, I had finished my work so my shift was over. I poked my head into the break area to tell him goodbye and good luck, since he won’t be working the same hours as me tomorrow. I picked up lunch for myself and the two girls at home—with my employee discount, I can feed all three of us for $5.35! Then I went home, changed out of my work uniform and took off my compression socks, went in my room, and wept a little for that sweet kid. No child that young should have that kind of responsibility on his shoulders!
If that was my kid, I probably would not want him to work at a job just yet—he is a little immature, in my opinion, and also, I would be worried about how this would affect him at school. And yet, I understand all too well why his mom would push him to get a job if she can’t make enough to provide for her family. The amounts of public assistance available to families with children are criminally low in Kentucky and many other (mostly red) states. Her choices are to watch her kids starve, or see her son’s grades slip because he is out having to work to help pay bills. So she and her children are screwed any way they go.
Unfortunately, it is all too common for teenagers from low income families to have to work in order to help their families survive financially—this country’s exploitative and abusive labor laws leave far too many families in a constant and desperate struggle for survival. Kids like him are yet another reason to fight for a national childcare assistance program, expanded and enhanced tax credits for families, single payer healthcare, a living wage, and labor laws that protect all workers, but most especially teenage kids, from exploitation by employers.
I wish there was something I could do to help this young boy, but I am struggling to survive myself right now. The next time there is an election, this young boy will be one of the hundreds of reasons I will always vote straight Democratic—Republican economic policies do nothing for anyone except the insanely rich.
Update--Wow—I wasn’t expecting to end up on the Rec list—thanks everybody! i have to be at work at 6 am, so I will need to get in bed soon. Have a good night!
Update x2—Well, I just got off work a little while ago and sat down to read the comments—thank you everyone, for the compassion you show towards this young boy, and others like him. I did not work with him today, but I will see him again next weekend. I wonder if his mom would be interested in working for the local hospital, or one of the affiliated clinics. I work for the same large medical network, just at the main hospital campus in Lexington. It would pay her more and she would have decent benefits for herself and her child. It might be enough money for her and her kids to be able to get by a little more comfortably. (If I was not drowning in medical bills, it would be enough for me to be able to get by on just one job.) There is a Christmas potluck for the employees next Sunday. I hope she brings her son and her other child so I can talk to her.
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