Quality of life is about more than the size of your pay cheque. It means being able to spend an evening with your family once a week—instead of keeping one parent at home with the kids while the other works, and then exchanging a few words when you switch roles halfway through the day. It means being able to request working hours that allow you to travel when buses are running so you do not have to walk miles to get to work. Those things matter to workers. When someone on a low wage talks about finding a better job, better pay is just part of the mix. This is why campaigns groups across America are trying to win better conditions—enabling employees to address questions of health, safety and life quality, alongside their wage gains. Short-notice rotas, as much as low pay or unsafe conditions, are central to a spate of protests across the US.