Amazon boosts minimum wage to $15 for all workers following criticism
Amazon.com announced Tuesday that it will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour for all employees, a move that comes after the tech giant faced harsh criticism for how much it pays its workers.
The pay increase will affect 250,000 Amazon employees and 100,000 seasonal employees hired at Amazon sites during the holiday season. It will affect full-time and part-time workers, as well as Whole Foods Market employees, and will take effect Nov. 1. “
We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do and decided we want to lead,”
Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos said in a statement. “
We’re excited about this change and encourage our competitors and other large employers to join us.”
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We will be working to gain congressional support for an increase in the federal minimum wage. The current rate of $7.25 was set nearly a decade ago,” said
Jay Carney, senior vice president of global corporate affairs for the company. “
We intend to advocate for a minimum-wage increase that will have a profound impact on the lives of tens of millions of people and families across this country.”
"Today I want to give credit where credit is due, and that is that Mr. Bezos and Amazon have done the right thing,” Sanders said in an interview Tuesday. “
This is a significant step forward for many thousands of Amazon employees.”
Sanders said Amazon’s efforts were likely to have “a ripple effect all over the economy” by putting pressure on competitors like Walmart to follow suit.
“Not only does this make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Amazon employees, it also sends a message to the fast food industry, the airline industry and the retail industry in general that the time is now to begin paying workers a living wage,” he said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/02/amazon-announces-it-will-boost-minimum-wage-all-workers-after-facing-criticism/?utm_term=.c4a19736360f
