So I work two jobs, one is for a paycheck (Amazon), the other is as a food-runner at a comedy club. I have the second job for several reasons, 1: Make connections to go to Open Mics, 2: Learn how comedy clubs operate so that one day I may be able to open my own cooperative club, and 3: see free live comedy. So far I've had a blast and have enjoyed everyone there, but the issue is that slowly but surely my sort of unofficial break time was slowly eroded until now when I rarely get a break.
When I first started there I would get one and sometimes even two breaks, and would join the cooks and sit outside and bullshit with them. But now my manager has me stay inside and do dishes and I get none unless we have two shows in one night, and in that case I only get one and I have to take it alone so that I can do dishes while the others take their break. The cooks, and my manager on the other hand probably average around 2-4 breaks a night (2 if one show, 4 if two shows). Here's the thing, I know the cooks start work two hours earlier than me, I know that their job is harder than mine, but I'm not asking for two breaks per show. I would be happy with one break per show, in between the times when I actually have to run food or do dishes. I should also mention that I do leave a little bit earlier than the cooks and the servers but probably no more than 30 minutes or so, it seems that my bosses want to rush me out so that they don't use up as much of my payroll (I overheard the cooks complaining about this because they wanted my help to clean the kitchen but I was told to leave).
The only thing I have working in my favor is the fact that I'm their only food-runner, and I know that they really need me, I've seen how hectic things are during the food rush, and I know that they have no issue hiring servers, but a lot of issues hiring any other positions. Thing is my manager isn't a bad guy, and I honestly think he's only asking me to stay in while others are on break because his boss asked him to. But when I think back to when I used to take my breaks I still got things done in a timely manner, and probably got them done within the same time frame that I do now. In fact I wouldn't mind segmenting my break even if it meant I couldn't hang out with the cooks, but I think deep down my manager just doesn't want to do the dishes while I'm out taking a break.
I guess what I'm trying to ask is that I want to make it clear that I want 1 break per show, without coming off as arrogant or ungrateful, and without risking losing any connections to open mics or my chance to learn/work in a comedy club. I've also thought about asking the servers when they go to break since they arrive around the same time I do, this might give me a good time frame to ask when I can take a break without everyone feeling like I showed up, did 20 minutes of work and took a break before the food rush even happened; but, this just goes back to the issue of me leaving earlier than everyone else and the possibility that servers take their break around when I leave. I want your guys' advice on how to put my foot down about this. It's worth mentioning that I work around 4-6 hours depending on how many shows we have that night, I make 10 bucks plus tip-out, and I live in a state without any guaranteed break times.