To protect the jobs of all involved, I will assign letters to each interviewee, with the exception of the Manager, Lori Flashner. She did not give me confidential information about wages, therefore I do not need to protect her identity.
Worker A: Her starting wage was $7.50. She currently makes $11.51 per hour. She has to work a second job as a hair dresser to make ends meet. She is only able to get 30 hours of full time work. The health insurance is very expensive, and she does not beleive she is getting paid a living wage. She could not make it on one job alone. She has never heard of a living wage previous to this interview.
Worker B She has been making sandwhiches with Bon Appetit for 6 years. She makes $12 per hour. She works 40 hours per week. She does not speak english. She does not know anything about the union, so she has no opinion of it. She never speaks to other workers, because there is not time. She has never heard of a living wage.
Worker C is from California. She works 40 hours per week in mission bakery. She has been working for 3 weeks, and gets paid $10 per hour . She beleives she is definately not getting paid a living wage (I had to explain the concept to her). She has two children and is married. Her husband works two jobs. Between the two of them, they can barely pay for school and the baby sitter. She does not know about the union, but has only been working for 3 weeks.
Worker D is from Mexico. He has been working in facilities for 20 years. He gets paid $15 per hour. He has to have another job as a custodian to make ends meets for his family. He is a huge union supporter. Every 3 years, when the contract is renwed, him, his fellow workers, and students all have to fight just to keep the wage adjusted for inflation and to keep healthcare benefits.