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Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

cnbc.com

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Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#31

Post by wccrawford »

swebs wrote: post #17

>In addition, the company also pledges its public policy team will lobby for an increase to the federal minimum wage from $7.25 — it doesn’t identify a specific wage that it’s targeting, but instead says, “We believe $7.25 is too low. We would look to Congress to decide the parameters of a new, higher federal minimum wage.” I'm going to take a wild guess and assume it will be $15/hour. That way they'll get to look pr…

That may be their target, but they probably think it's unlikely and when they end up actually getting $10/hr instead, they'll still be able to call it a win.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#32

Post by samfisher83 »

allengeorge wrote: post #10

They must have automated enough, or shifted enough work to contractors that this is now materially not a big deal.

The are raising 350k employees wages:

https://apnews.com/222764a6535a4ce7a17c02c7405361f2/Amazon-r...

I am sure its going to cost them some money. Suppose they are going from 10 to 15 bucks. That 350k552*40 = 3.64 billion. They might not all be working 40 hours, but it kind of shows how much of an impact it will be be.

I think its a good thing. Companies like costco have shown you can pay your employees fairly and still make money.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#33

Post by syn0byte »

EpicEng wrote: post #13
allengeorge wrote: post #10

They must have automated enough, or shifted enough work to contractors that this is now materially not a big deal.

You don't know that, why make things up just to dump on them?

History provides a reasonable context to make the assumption?

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#34

Post by ceejayoz »

School-Cotton wrote: post #24
ceejayoz wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely "this trillion dollar company led by the world's richest man pays its workers peanuts" is a criticism of capitalism?

You don’t think people have been criticizing Amazon specifically? I think they have.

It's usually best, when criticizing something, to come prepared with concrete examples that demonstrate the issue you're talking about.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#35

Post by wonderwonder »

Irrespective of if this was done out of altruism or political strategy, its a good move on their part and they deserve applause. It is a very positive step for their employees. Its also going to score points for Bezos in his ongoing face off with Trump. Nice feather in Sanders' cap as well. I see no losers in those directly involved in this situation.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#36

Post by crdoconnor »

allengeorge wrote: post #10

They must have automated enough, or shifted enough work to contractors that this is now materially not a big deal.

I wonder if anybody else remembers 2007 foxconn pledging to automate 90% of their factory workers out of a job when they started unionizing.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#37

Post by Cthulhu_ »

stirlo wrote: post #14

While this is a very welcome development it would be more impressive to see them reform their slave like fulfilment center work practises. Employees are forced to walk massive distances, have their every move tracked and are penalised for taking bathroom breaks. I doubt many people in Silicon Valley would consider $15 an hour a fair compensation for the oppressive work conditions.

> While this is a very welcome development it would be more impressive to see them reform their slave like fulfilment center work practises.

Oh but they are - by investing heavily in automation and research, eventually making these workers obsolete.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#39

Post by ralmidani »

Amazon should be commended for making a move in the right direction.

I personally think people should be paid more. $15 * 40 * 52 comes out to $31,200. Before payroll and income taxes. That's barely enough to survive in a small city like Flint, MI (I live in a suburb of Flint), let alone somewhere like NYC, Seattle, or SF.

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