this week and it s kind of hard. that s a big struggle for me. reporter: the average fast food worker makes just under $19,000 a year. the government s poverty threshold for a family of four? 23,000. they tell us these jobs teach a strong work ethic throughout their careers. we are for fair wages but it needs to be based on facts. and facts show the majority of workers that earn minimum wage in the united states are not employed in the restaurant industry. as for shaneda and pamela, they are hopeful. the fast food business. i love food. i like dealing with people, too. i m not ever going to stop dreaming for my children. they want to be ballerinas. we can t pay for it right now, but we re going to give it to them one day. reporter: and as you can bet, there are plenty of critics for the $15 minimum wage.
make $8 an hour. i work at great reps and i make $9 an hour. tales of two people but one story. pamela and shaneda are just two of a million workers living on a fast food wage. i pay my light bills, i pay my days. i never have enough. right now she has to prioritize. i ve had lights turned off, too. it s kind of hard without lights. how do you make ends meet? let s say you go to the grocery store? my husband and i eat today or i eat tomorrow. pamela and shaneda both work less than 40 hours a week. neither of them get benefits. it s hard to build a future if we don t know what it s going to bring you. next week. you don t know what s going on