Hailing from China, the Caribbean, Latin America, and India, a colorful sea of faces has taken its place behind one of the most ubiquitous American business institutions ? the fast-food counter. They have become a vital link between the growing service sector in our cities' ethnic enclaves and the multi-billion dollar global fast-food industry. For

Jennifer Parker Talwar is an assistant professor of sociology at Penn State-Berks Lehigh Valley. She lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.