Ebert Velasquez Ramos (right) works at the drive-through at a McDonald's in Morningside, Md. He doesn't have a car so he sometimes turns to Escalate, a startup that provides Uber vouchers for workers who need last-minute rides among other support.
Claire Harbage/NPR
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MORNINGSIDE, Md. — At 10 a.m. on a Tuesday, the drive-through at a McDonald's just off the Capital Beltway is still busy with the late breakfast crowd.
Inside the window, Ebert Velasquez Ramos takes an order for a sausage, egg and cheese McGriddle, cheerfully asking the customer if they want to make it a meal.
The new high school graduate has been at this job for about a month. It's his first job ever — and so far, so good. The bosses like how personable he is. And he's been reporting for his shifts on time, every day, something he worried could be a challenge.
Velasquez Ramos doesn't have a car, and getting here by bus isn't easy. Some days, he's able to catch a ride from a friend or a family member. But when no one's been available, he's turned to Escalate, a startup that began piloting its employee support app at seven McDonald's restaurants in suburban Washington, D.C., late last year. Through the app, he's been able to quickly get a voucher for an Uber, which gets him to work on time.
"I don't know if any other jobs really have that option, so I'm glad this one does," he says.
Sienna Daniel and Sean Segal started Escalate after working together in nonprofits.
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Escalate is the brainchild of Sienna Daniel and Sean Segal, two veterans of the nonprofit world.
For years, they focused on helping unemployed and underemployed people gain the skills needed to land jobs and launch careers. They ran bootcamp-style training, hoping to open up new pathways to work.
But they saw that workers kept battling the same practical problems. Cars broke down. Childcare fell through. Absences piled up, and people could not hang onto their jobs.
"Opportunities might be there, but if they aren't stabilized and they don't have what they need to be able to get to where they need to go, there's a problem," says Daniel.
She has seen this phenomenon play out among her own family members in Ohio, who have struggled with poverty and work. "My dad, who is 73 years old, and my grandmother, who is 94 years old, still support them every day," says Daniel. "Driving them to work. Picking them up. When they get evicted, helping them to find housing. Food is a big challenge. Childcare."
But so many others? They have no such safety net.
Segal says through their nonprofits, they've seen that people really want to work. And they need the paychecks — even when they're only making minimum wage.