Hungry Cooks: Poverty Wages and Homelessness in the Fast Food Industry
May 1, 2023 / By Daniel Flaming and Patrick Burns / Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
The fast food industry is a poverty employer, with a larger share of its workers in poverty than any other industry. All low-wage workers face some level of risk that they will become homeless. This risk is compounded in the fast food industry by the combination of low wages, part-time work and employee churn. These interlocking hazards undercut workers’ ability to pay their rent.