Not many lobbyists enjoy as much access to US Senators as I do. I’m a cashier at the cafe inside the US Capitol.

Every morning, senators make a pit-stop where I work to grab coffee, oatmeal and granola bars on their way to the Senate floor to give speeches and cast votes. They warmly greet me with “Hey Sontia, how you doing?” as I ring them up. I always respond with a smile and say “I’m fine, thank you.”

I know that we’re just exchanging pleasantries over the cash register. But I often wonder if these senators really want – or care enough – to know about my life.

The truth is that I’m far from fine – recently, my life took a tragic turn.

Even though I work full-time at the US Capitol, I only earn $10.59 an hour. Because the federal contractor that operates the cafe pays me so little, I had to pick-up a second job at KFC to make ends meet. It may be hard to believe, but Colonel Sanders actually pays me more than Uncle Sam does: I make $11 an hour at my fast food job.

I put in 70 hours a week, Monday through Sunday. I wake up at 6am to work the breakfast rush at the Capitol and then clock out around 6pm to hop on the metro to make it to my second shift at KFC. I get home around 1am in the morning, get a few hours of sleep if I’m lucky, and then start the routine all over again.

One of the presidential candidates recently said that people like me “need to work longer hours.” Well, there aren’t any more hours left in my day to work.

I want the senators I serve to know that working two poverty-wage jobs has taken a terrible toll on my body and my health.

Three weeks ago, I lost my baby boy. I had a miscarriage in my home at 3am. I don’t remember much – I lost so much blood that I had to have several transfusions – but I do remember waking up in a hospital and learning that my son was dead.

No mother should have wake up to say “Goodbye sweetie” to the baby in their arms. My fiancé and I were devastated but I couldn’t even afford to grieve – I had to get back to work so I could pay for a decent funeral for my son.

I’m sharing my story because I feel like the senators I serve, some of whom are running to be president, are really out of touch with struggles of everyday people like me who are stuck in low-wage jobs.

I want senators to know that real problem facing workers is that despite putting in long hours, we can’t manage to get ahead and stay ahead. The real problem we face is low-pay.

If I made a living wage at the US Capitol, I would not have needed to get a second job and stretch myself to the breaking point. If I just had one good-paying job, I would be a new mother today.

Nobody should ever have to choose between paying the bills and the health of her pregnancy. But too many women like me face this impossible choice every single day. We just can’t take care of our own health and bodies when we are forced to juggle two full-time jobs and only get 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night.

People ask me “Sontia, why do you work so hard?” Like most women, I work to help the people I love. I’ve been working since I was 14 years old to support my younger brothers. I’m proud that they were able to graduate from high school and earn college degrees. Even after they left home, I continued to work long hours so that I could give a decent life to my own baby.

I know that once the senators read this they will offer me their condolences. But I don’t want sympathy – I just want them to make sure the contractor I work for at the US Capitol pays a living wage. This is the most important thing women like me need to fulfil our responsibilities to those we love.