No see he was referring to the people whose job it was to wash dishes. Dishwashers. Being “ran” is old-timey dishwasherperson slang for pulling a shift.

He’s describing the fact that, due to the ravages of capitalism, dishwashers had to pull double or even triple shifts some days while sometimes they got no work at all, highlighting the irregular and unreliable pay that is part of the oppression of capitalism.