Without any low-wage job experience myself, I instead will have to reach out to someone whom I am connected with in order to write about a low-wage lifestyle. I therefore have decided to write about the situation of my close friend who worked a a McDonalds throughout high school. My friend worked at the McDonalds close to both of our houses for about two and a half years and would discuss many of the situations he experienced throughout his tenure working there. I will therefore have a fair enough of a background regarding this friends employment at the chain with the addition of some external research I will be performing.
My friend got his job at McDonalds at the beginning of the summer after his sophomore year in high school. A little late on the summer job employment ride, he was forced to apply to the low waged jobs around our town (mainly in fast food) rather than the normal jobs most of my friends had (country clubs, doctors' offices, etc.). Determined to take the best job he could, he waited out to hear from each of the companies but McDonalds was the only one to accept his application. From day one working there he complained all the time. His hours were poor in comparison to that of myself and our other friends' and his wages were considerably worse. Due to the hours he was unable to hang out with us as often and due to the low wages he was strapped economically compared to us as well.
The most shocking aspect of my friend's involvement at McDonalds was the employment of his co-workers rather than himself. Coming from a relatively middle to high class town, I do not have many experiences with impoverished situations. However, according to my close friend, he was not only the only Caucasian who worked at his McDonalds, but he was also the only worker from our town who worked there. Many of them instead were from the nearby city of Buffalo, a twenty-five to thirty minute drive from my town. My friend said that most of them would take the shaky public transportation to work everyday which would take around an hour and a half to two hours one-way.
What does this mean? Quick analyzation of the situation brings me to the most obvious answer: many impoverished minorities are unable to get jobs elsewhere because companies nearby their homes are fully employed and/or they themselves are unqualified to work there and are therefore forced to leave their surrounding areas to work at such low-wage jobs like McDonalds. Fortune Magazine has named the McDonalds Corporation as the Best Company for Minorities multiple years now since they have been putting out the list. According to Fortune, McDonalds has a workforce that is 53% minority. This is because McDonalds' concentrated effort to include minorities in their operations. They have also placed minorities on their board of directors in addition to the fact that they purchase most of their goods from minority firms.
Comparing my friends' situation to that of his co-workers is the key to this issue. While my friend was simply behind in looking for a part-time job in his affluent suburban town, his co-workers were seeking any employment they could find in order to provide for themselves; even if that meant traveling four hours a day to get to and from work. My friend was looking for extra money to buy video games and new clothes while many of his co-workers' families depended on their employment at McDonalds as a means to survive. My friend, in the long run, could really care less if he was fired from McDonalds. His co-workers relied upon it in order to live.
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