Fast Food Nation

This chapter takes us to Colorado Springs, CO--where Academy Boulevard is the main artery running through pervasive urban sprawl. Schlosser discusses the history of this city, which is home to many former California residents. Colorado Springs was a sleepy town until the outbreak of World War II, when military spending brought thousands of troops to the area. After the war, more bases were opened; today, half of the jobs here still depend on military spending. The area has grown very conservative in recent years and is home to a high concentration of evangelicals. While futuristic industries--such as aerospace and computer software--are an important part of the economy, the largest private employer is the restaurant business.

Schlosser considers how teenagers have been, for some time, the bulk of the fast-food workforce--this is because the fast-food industry seeks employees who are unskilled and willing to work part-time for low wages. The fast-food industry is modeled after assembly line systems, which were used by early twentieth-century manufacturers. "Throughput" is the most important aspect of this labor system-- that is, the speed and volume of a factory's (or fast-food restaurant's) flow. Fast-food restaurants are strictly regimented, giving employers power over their employees, who become dispensable. Because the fast-food industry relies on an operating system and machines, it does not require its workers to be skilled. Besides teenagers, the fast-food industry workforce is comprised of elderly, disabled, and immigrant individuals. For one-sixth of the nation's restaurant employees, English is a second language.

Schlosser observes that while fast-food chains continue to accept hundreds of millions of dollars in government subsidies for training employees, they quietly spend enormous sums on research and technology to eliminate employee training. Fast-food restaurants employ the highest rate of low-wage workers,