Waiting tables at Jerry’s, the author meets a young dishwasher named George. Who is he? What is his story? Why do he and Ehrenreich befriend one another? And why does she not “intervene” when she learns from an assistant manager that George is thought to

George is a nineteen-year-old immigrant from the Czech Republic, only recently arrived in the United States. He is a dishwasher, and his income is derived from the agent who sent him to the states, rather than Jerry's..... meaning he get paids less money, and part of his income goes straight back to his agent.

Ehrenreich also learns that George lives with a group of "washers" and has no bed of his own. Sleeping in beds is determined by what shift each man works. Ehrenreich is sympathetic and even helps George learn English. As for the reason she didn't intervene.... even Ehrenreich can't explain it. She equates the experience to how people must feel in POW camps...... feelng that they must both conform and be obedient.