A first-person account from off the beaten track, as told to Anne Ford.

“At McDonald’s, I work from six to two Tuesdays and Wednesdays. And the rest of the week, I work at Burger King 11 to four. I’m still making $8.25 an hour, with 12 years of experience. We have no benefits. The price of everything has gone up, higher and higher, and our wages are still, like, frozen.