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Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

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

#61
post #7

Senator Bernie Sanders, for example, recently introduced legislation to end what he calls “corporate welfare” — and it’s pretty clear who he had in mind, since the bill was titled Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (BEZOS). Bernie out-marketing AMZN is pretty funny.

This is hilarious. Would've never guessed Bernie had this sense of humor.

You do realize it's probably not actually Bernie who came up with the name? (It's one of his underlings.)

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

#62

The blog post says "employees". No reporter I've seen has bothered to ask if it applies to contractors.

Wouldn't contractors set their own rates?

No, the contract itself is with a separate firm, who in turn pays their employees a minimum wage.

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

#64
post #7

Senator Bernie Sanders, for example, recently introduced legislation to end what he calls “corporate welfare” — and it’s pretty clear who he had in mind, since the bill was titled Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (BEZOS). Bernie out-marketing AMZN is pretty funny.

Maybe I've got no sense of humour, but I think that's unprofessional and something like bullying, rather than funny. Legislation should surely not target one individual by name like that?

If you pay your employees $7.25 you deserve to be made fun off at least. Jeff Bezos recently also said Amazon deserved being scrutinised. I'm not saying this is what triggered them, but sometimes you have to take a strong position in order to be listened to.

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

#65
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does Amazon have a presence in India?

Yes Amazon is huge in India. https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/amazon-india-...

Labor in India will be affected by changes in NREGA, over amazon.

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

#67
post #47

Opponents of the minimum wage argue that it reduces employment by creating an artificial floor on wages, that jobs are lost because employers can't afford to pay the minimum. But if you can't pay the minimum, then you didn't really have a job to offer in the first place! By extension of this logic, employers could argue that they are losing jobs because they can only afford to pay someone who will work 12 hours a day…

There is no definition of "minimum", "basic living", "safe conditions", "fair hours" etc. Fair hours used to be 10 hours a day 6 days / week. Living used to be able to survive a famine. Safe conditions used to be hunting for animals.

All it matters is people interacting voluntarily, that's the only argument against minimum wage.

   But it is disingenuous to suggest that just because there
   are people who would take such jobs, that our economy
   should allow employers to get away with it
Ex-felons would also "get away with it" (remember there are always at least two sides in an exchange), but they would be in a better situation if they accepted the job

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

#68
post #7

Senator Bernie Sanders, for example, recently introduced legislation to end what he calls “corporate welfare” — and it’s pretty clear who he had in mind, since the bill was titled Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (BEZOS). Bernie out-marketing AMZN is pretty funny.

Maybe some Republicans should troll Bernie back by proposing

THE Arrest The Tradition of Acrostics In the Names of Defective Erroneous Regulations ACT

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

#69
post #7

Senator Bernie Sanders, for example, recently introduced legislation to end what he calls “corporate welfare” — and it’s pretty clear who he had in mind, since the bill was titled Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (BEZOS). Bernie out-marketing AMZN is pretty funny.

Maybe I've got no sense of humour, but I think that's unprofessional and something like bullying, rather than funny. Legislation should surely not target one individual by name like that?

If you think this is a shocking example of "unprofessional" or "bullying" behavior in American politics I feel like you must have just awoken from a coma.

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

#70
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet I know of many people now who work hard jobs and make 15 dollars an hour or less. Why does it matter if people in SV think it's good pay?

This new $15 line means that a very large group of labor in the US now earns less than the lowest paid Amazon worker. It removes one of the two or three primary criticisms of Amazon (at least for a while). It's in fact a labor hammer on mom & pop businesses - who never pay well - at a time when there's an intense labor shortgage. Most likely, Amazon had to raise wages to fill its labor growth demands, and it's a PR b…

Amazon would still prefer to collect the money as profit (and use it to expand or whatever). Their hand was forced by the labor unions.
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