Amazon announces $15 minimum wage for all US employees

a reply to: watchitburn

Still a place of learning is my point, not cheap either. Even in this socialist land of England unless you qualify for free or subsidized education.

Many work places pay for education though.

But yeah, people can make the wrong choice. Waste their time and money. Maybe education on acquiring education?

2-4 years to be a fully qualified bricky when I went through college. Depending on how "qualified" I wanted to be of course.

a reply to: Alien Abduct

I'll agree it is cheaper for what we want, why would a hard earned dollar go into anything else? oh they fix the roads 24/7 our taxes are needed right? tell me why i pay taxes on everything i buy ever? is that convenience wage?

originally posted by: MarlbBlack
a reply to: Alien Abduct

I'll agree it is cheaper for what we want, why would a hard earned dollar go into anything else? oh they fix the roads 24/7 our taxes are needed right? tell me why i pay taxes on everything i buy ever? is that convenience wage?

We'll never know. Just cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Just to add, that in the UK almost 40000 staff in Britain will get an increase to £10.50 an hour in London and £9.50 across the rest of the country. Now if only we could get Amazon to pay there proper UK taxes...

minimum wage has to be 20 dollars an hour, AND you need to be a US Citizen (with proof) to work.
that would solve so many problems.

15 is still not enough.

in the 80's, you could work a janitor job 40 hours a week, and pay rent.
in 2018, you gotta work 40 hours as a janitor AND do an additional 20 hours at walmart/target/etc to make that same money.

big corps win, they get 60 hours a week out of them for the same price as 40 in the 80s.

this is the problem with illegals, they are willing to work for 4 bucks an hour.
in walmart secaucus nj, there are TONS of workers who do NOT speak english.
i wonder if amazon is like that, with 'bilingual' work announcements...

originally posted by: sooth
All the more incentive for mega-corporations to replace their human workers with A.I. ASAP.

Really then who buys the goods and services your AI wont buy food a car a tv or go out for a meal will it.

a reply to: darkbake

Given all the money that my husband and I spend on Amazon, I applaud Bezos' decision. It's not *quite* a living wage in many areas but it's a good start.

Like some other liberals, I generally avoid shopping at certain companies because I don't like their policies or the way they treat their employees. Not that these companies will go under because they don't have my business - it's a personal ethic. But I"m glad Amazon is trying to not be evil.

...at least in the matter of worker wages.

a reply to: neo96

Come on don't confuse them with facts.

a reply to: SocratesJohnson

I think even if PR it's a good start. It isn't all about wages either, I think they really need to look into their warehouse worker practices. From what I hear it is absolutely brutal. Not saying people should expect to work hard for their money, but we have to remember people are not robots.

originally posted by: darkbake
I never expected Amazon to lead the pack when it came to providing a living wage for its employees!

Good for Amazon. Good PR. Suddenly we can have a clear conscience buying from this tax-avoiding company.

Ask yourself this...

How may Amazon employees does that actually impact, considering most people who work for Amazon are sub-contractors. It's just like Apple boasting that all their staff earn squadzillions, when they rely on slave labour to make their products.

originally posted by: paraphi

originally posted by: darkbake
I never expected Amazon to lead the pack when it came to providing a living wage for its employees!

Good for Amazon. Good PR. Suddenly we can have a clear conscience buying from this tax-avoiding company.

Ask yourself this...

How may Amazon employees does that actually impact, considering most people who work for Amazon are sub-contractors. It's just like Apple boasting that all their staff earn squadzillions, when they rely on slave labour to make their products.

People complain that a company like Amazon doesnt pay employees enough.
People complain when Amazon raises their minimum wage because reasons.
People like to complain currently.

if we believe the hardcore right wingers people making decent money will collapse the economy and we will all die

It's a smart business decision. Paying your own workers a higher than market salary gives more control over your own operation than you would have otherwise.

Once your workers acclimate to that wage, they can't quit and go anywhere else. Nobody else would pay them the salary they're now dependent on. So the threat of firing them carries more weight. Your workers will take pride in their job, because they know they were lucky to get it.



That said.... $15 minimum puts Amazon on par with the US Post Office. The lowest paid non-career mail carriers make $15 an hour.

a reply to: darkbake

I would be more impressed if it was $15 an hour minimum wage for all employees worldwide.

It's not like they cannot afford to pay such nether.

originally posted by: dantanna
minimum wage has to be 20 dollars an hour, AND you need to be a US Citizen (with proof) to work.
that would solve so many problems.

15 is still not enough.

in the 80's, you could work a janitor job 40 hours a week, and pay rent.
in 2018, you gotta work 40 hours as a janitor AND do an additional 20 hours at walmart/target/etc to make that same money.

big corps win, they get 60 hours a week out of them for the same price as 40 in the 80s.

this is the problem with illegals, they are willing to work for 4 bucks an hour.
in walmart secaucus nj, there are TONS of workers who do NOT speak english.
i wonder if amazon is like that, with 'bilingual' work announcements...

I have older relatives that said they were able to buy a new car and live on their own working as a busboy at a restaurant years ago. The restaurant was responsible to the customers and workers and not shareholders.

Look at all the chain restaurants today with stocks on wall street.
Capitalism existed just fine in the past without redistributing the wealth of the productive to the unproductive in the finance sector.

Wages have stagnated and the middle class is disappearing while the finance sector has exploded. It is time we flip the fingerb at shareholders.

Capitalism can exist just fine without redistributing the wealth from the productive workers to the unproductive shareholders that want a cut of other peoples money.