Hypertext #2 Topic: Low Wage Workers at Wal-Mart

For my second hypertext essay, I have chosen to write about working at Wal-Mart and how disadvantaged their employees are. One of the reasons I chose this topic is that one of my closest friends works at Wal-Mart for very low wages. I started researching a little and found out there have been studies showing that workers at Wal-Mart are prevented from forming unions. This idea came up when Eric Schlossen wrote in 'Fast Food Nation' about how McDonald's workers are also prevented from forming unions (75-78). Speaking of Schlossen, I admire how he wrote his book about the fast food industry from many different perspectives and included a lot of personal stories. I would like to find some great personal stories to include in my second hypertext essay from not only one perspective.
In David K. Shipler's 'The Working Poor,' we get the idea that once you are poor, it can be a never ending cycle. He writes about how people are "stuck at such low wages that their living standards are unchanged." (4) I would like to find out more about how this idea relates to workers at Wal-Mart. Perhaps I can find some great personal stories about Wal-Mart workers being "stuck." In Barbara Ehrenreich's 'Nickel and Dimed' she incorporates the stories of her new co-workers with her narrative about her different low wage jobs. While I enjoyed her narratives and learned a lot from them, I do not have enough time to go make a living off of the low wages from Wal-Mart. I can however take some of the ideas she presents and work them into my essay. I have not yet read her chapter on working at Wal-Mart, but I plan to use that as a starting point for my essay and go from there. If I find my topic to be too broad, I will try to narrow it down a little by looking at the type of articles I can find on the subject.