Manager Nearly Kills a College Kid, Gets A Furious Lesson in Safety

Sometimes, the scariest stories aren’t ghost stories. They’re the ones that could happen on any given Tuesday at a perfectly normal job. One Redditor recently shared a story about his dad’s time working in a car factory, a tale that started with a simple request from a friendly-but-dimwitted manager.

The request? For his dad, a young college kid at the time, to crawl inside a jammed industrial trash compactor to fix it. What followed was a masterclass in malicious compliance, a legendary showdown with a union rep, and a lesson a clueless boss would never, ever forget.

This story is a wild ride, and a serious reminder of workplace dangers:

You can just picture it, can’t you? The deafening silence on the factory floor as a furious union rep lays into a manager who just tried to turn a college kid into human pâté. It’s the kind of story that’s hilarious in hindsight but absolutely terrifying in the moment.

The dad’s quick thinking is truly the stuff of legends. Instead of arguing or refusing, which could have gotten him fired for insubordination, he used the manager’s own carelessness against him. “Sure, I’ll do this life-threatening thing you asked, but can my union rep, the one whose entire job is to prevent this exact scenario, watch me do it?” Brilliant. It’s a perfect example of using the system to protect yourself when the person in charge fails to.

Incompetence Is More Dangerous Than Malice

This story is a powerful reminder that a “nice” boss with a “jackrabbit IQ” can be just as dangerous as a malicious one. George wasn’t trying to hurt anyone; he was just trying to solve a problem quickly, and his complete lack of foresight nearly led to a tragedy.

This is not a freak occurrence. Industrial machinery is incredibly dangerous. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, thousands of workers suffer serious injuries every year from being caught in or compressed by equipment. Many of these incidents happen because of a lack of proper safety procedures, like lockout/tagout, where a machine is fully de-energized before maintenance. It’s a procedure George almost certainly didn’t know or care about.

This is exactly why unions have been so vital to worker safety. They don’t just react to accidents; they build proactive safety protocols right into the employment contract. As one labor relations expert from Cornell University puts it, unions “create a legally-binding system of safety that is not dependent on the whims or competence of any single manager.” Kenny wasn’t just being a good guy; he was enforcing a hard-won contractual right that protected every single person on that floor.

The Reddit community hailed the dad as a genius and Kenny as a hero.

Unions and their fierce protectors were the undisputed heroes of this story.

The sheer stupidity and danger of the manager’s request was not lost on anyone.

And of course, Reddit brought the humor.

How to Handle a Dangerous Request at Work

We’ve all had bosses who ask us to do things that feel a bit outside our job description, but what do you do when a request is genuinely unsafe? The dad in this story provides a perfect template.

First, state the facts calmly. “I haven’t been trained to do that” is a powerful and non-confrontational statement. It puts the responsibility back on the manager to provide the proper training and safety equipment.

Second, if they push, find an ally or a witness. Suggesting a “spotter,” especially one who is a safety lead, a union rep, or even just a trusted senior colleague, is a brilliant way to call attention to the situation without outright refusing. It forces the manager to either follow procedure or expose their negligence to others. Remember, your safety is more important than a manager’s convenience. Never let anyone rush you into a situation you haven’t been trained to handle.

In The End…

This dad’s story is a true gem. It’s a perfect blend of wit, danger, and justice. In hindsight, we can laugh at George quaking in his boots, but it’s a chilling reminder that safety rules are often written in blood. Thank goodness for smart kids who know the rules and for union reps like Kenny who are ready to go to war to enforce them.

What’s the most ridiculous or dangerous thing a boss has ever asked you to do? Let us know in the comments below.