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Fast Food Nation: Waging For A Wage

1579 Words7 Pages

Waging For A Wage
After reading Fast Food Nation and thinking about Schlosser's findings in the fast food industry within the Colorado Springs area, one of the several topics discussed that stood out to me was about the employees that worked behind the counter of fast food restaurants. I reside in the four-county Sacramento metropolitan region which includes the counties of Sacramento,
Placer, El Dorado, and Yolo. It is in Yolo County that I frequent a McDonald's drive-thru for my caffeine fix to grab myself a budget friendly dollar cup of coffee. During these times, I have observed and conversed with the friendly faces at the local fast food restaurant. My observations lead me to the realization of how the faces at McDonald's have indeed changed, …show more content…

Employees are also having to with rude and disrespectful customers. Fast food workers work quickly and efficiently in what can be a hectic environment, yet their pay does not reflect the value of their work.
A one income household on minimum wage can no longer make it, even with two incomes families are in financial trouble. Stay-at-home mothers began working in the fast food restaurants as a way to generate extra income. The industry provided flexibility and convenience, allowing mothers to work and still be available to their families. As prices continued to soar, working was no longer seen as a way to generate extra money, it was the only way to try to break even. Workers in need of generating more income had to open up their availability in hopes of picking up more hours or had to acquire a second job. Working more hours or working a second job meant more time away from home and less time with their families.
The fast food industry is known for it's low paying wages, the shortage of hours and lack of benefits. In California, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current minimum wage …show more content…

Unskilled is to not have or not require any special skills. To work with machinery, computers, and people there is skill needed. Knowing how to communicate with others, to be able to fact find, to be patient, to listen effectively and provide customer service, requires skill. Many of the fast food workers skills such as time management, multitasking,
Torres 5 working well with others, being team players, working well under pressure, sales, point of sale transactions, cash handling and balancing, inventory, the ability to follow directions and procedures, take initiative when needed all while building customer loyalty are transferable skills. Employers know this, but corporations insist that fast food workers are unskilled in order to justify their reasoning behind the low pay.
Fast food workers are employed by a highly profitable industry. Corporations earn and report record profits and at the same time are receiving many tax breaks. CEO's of fast food corporations are some of the top payed in the nation. As the inequality gap continues to separate the rich and the poor more and more, fast food worker's are fighting an uphill battle where

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