Fast-Food Workers Are Closing In on a Major Victory in California

Mysheka Ronquillo usually gets up around 6 in the morning to provide in-home care to two clients in Los Angeles. In the afternoon, Ronquillo then doubles back south to her second job at a Carl’s Jr. in Long Beach. After what can be an hours-long trek on public transit, her managers at the fast-food chain sometimes send her home without pay because there’s not enough work to do.

“They look at us like we’re just a number,” Ronquillo says. “We don’t have feelings. We’re not human. We don’t have children and...