Amazon announces $15 minimum wage for all US employees

a reply to: UKTruth

Yeah... No.

Some companies may have decided to pass such breaks but the thing that changed Amazon's mind was people power.

We're talking about companies with record breaking profits, you don't get their without a robust business plan and exploitation of international markets and your own workforce. Seems to be a common practice in the US for medium to large companies that "force" workers to work crazy hours a week.

Actually it's a common practice in any capitalistic society where there's a necessity for work but a lack of opportunity. (People should always have the potential for work, it's good for you).

Ultimately though this does have the potential to damage small business, like mentioned under your post.

Common theme seems to be "nobody makes you work though, go get another job" so all I say is meh. A living wage is a good thing, this move will make life easier for a lit of people.

Not a bad thing.

Tax cuts didn't make a difference though otherwise those savings would've been passed down way before a bunch of Lefty communists kicked up a fuss... Right?

Now watch how fast the unions try to organize Amazon's employees. There's a reason that unions are behind the $15 an hour minimum wage. Behind it for everybody else except for their members.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: RAY1990

Amazon saved money because of Trumps tax cuts.
Workers are getting a pay rise.
All is positive. Well done to Amazon for using their tax break in the way the President intended.

You can pretend all you like that Amazon actually having extra money didn't play into their decision if it makes you feel better, but this is an example of the Tax plan benefitting the worker.

a reply to: UKTruth

You can say that and I can say what I said, we're both not wrong. At the same time though, unless Amazon specifically say so all you've said is speculation used as political motivation for policies your particular brand of politics brought.

Yet seemingly Amazon had no plans for wage increases, not without the negative press.

I could also claim that Trump's "patriotic policies" are doing little to nothing in regards to exploiting foreign markets whilst also helping to destroy national and western markets, I could also claim it's doing the opposite.

I don't really want to though. Political pissing games are becoming really really boring.

So I'll just say well done Amazon, it's a good move.

originally posted by: Athetos
Jeff is so rich he makes something like 3,000$ a second. Which is great, trickle down in effect or no?

a reply to: darkbake

Instead of cutting into that $3000 sec. he will raise prices to pay that $15 hr. The customer will pay it.

Interesting.

15 US Dollars are 13,01 Euros right now.

Then i checked what a low wage slave at Amazon in Germany earns. Found this german article from January 2018. The guy there says that he gets 12,23 Euros.

These wages at Amazon cause strikes and protests at Amazon Germany.

Some few cents more and it´s celebrated overseas as a really good deed from Amazon, to the US american people.

Btw, the minimum wage in Germany is 8,84 Euros, a joke. And nobody strikes and protests because of that fact, we are good and the most subservient working drones which love their chains here, as it seems.

a reply to: darkbake

What would also help is people learning useful skills instead of racking up tons of debt on useless liberal arts degrees

Well that's an asinine more.

finance.yahoo.com...

$177 billion in revenue.

Nets $3 billion.

250,000 workers @ $15 an hour.

40 hour work week.

52 weeks.

250,000 * $600 per work week = $150,000,000 million per week per worker.

$7,800,000,000 just in labor.

$7,800,000,000 -$3 billion( what Amazon nets) leaves Amazon $ 4 billion in the red just to meet labor costs.

Amazon raises prices to offset the cost.

Passing it on to the consumer.

a reply to: DerBeobachter

So the Amazon wage isn't so bad in Germany when compared to the NMW (national minimum wage) Amazon are above the NMW here too from what I've gathered.

People don't tend to complain much if they're doing better yet than what's defined as the minimum. Ultimately there's people who are self employed that earn far less than a NMW. They don't complain here either.

Yet, with all that being said I supported the idea of £10 being NMW about 5-7 years ago. Can only imagine what it should be today...

Also. It's worth noting that comparison between nations and wage is a folly kind of thing anyways, it's not how national economies work. You have to weigh up all of the purchasing power of the average citizen. Food, rent, medical services, liesure etc etc.

It all seems to "work out" in an international sense. It's rare for any one economy to be above another in terms of financial freedom of life.

Although the small rise in pay is always welcome, I think most of the criticism levelled against Amazon is focused more on the working conditions and pressure the workers are under.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the recently proposed Stop BEZOS Act that would see Amazon reimbursing the government for any welfare their employees use. Funny how in the thread about that I was told that Amazon wouldn't be able to afford any kind of wage increase.

That's great! Maybe it will set an example for Donald trump, and he will bring his manufacturing back into the country and pay his employees $15 an hr.

Way to go Amazon!
Don, are you listening?

a reply to: watchitburn

Not everyone are doing these "liberal art degrees" you speak of. Many people still go to college to learn these "useful skills" you mention.

Unless any dick and harry can claim to be a plumber or bricklayer in the US without the documentation to prove such skills in the US?

Even apprentice's have to learn at a college or some other venue of learning.

originally posted by: neo96
Well that's an asinine more.

finance.yahoo.com...

$177 billion in revenue.

Nets $3 billion.

250,000 workers @ $15 an hour.

40 hour work week.

52 weeks.

250,000 * $600 per work week = $150,000,000 million per week per worker.

$7,800,000,000 just in labor.

$7,800,000,000 -$3 billion( what Amazon nets) leaves Amazon $ 4 billion in the red just to meet labor costs.

Amazon raises prices to offset the cost.

Passing it on to the consumer.

The part Amazon doesn't mention is that they probably are going to get rid of half their workforce in the warehouses by using technology / robots. So yeah, their remaining employees may be making $15/hr but the math doesn't work if they keep the same workforce as you pointed out.

originally posted by: darkbake

Another way to look at it is that providing quality jobs with stable hours, decent pay, benefits and the like will attract workers who will be more willing to stick with the company and put in their best effort.

I have an extremely stable job that pays considerably more than $15 an hour, in a market where what I make goes a very long way. The benefits are pretty good, very reasonable work/life balance as well. It doesn't mean you bought my loyalty however, I am still constantly on the hunt for bigger and better. Why give a company any loyalty at all, they have none toward you, even with these increases in wages.

And for all of the people that complain about Bezos and his business practices (a lot of which I do disagree with), he could if he so desired take his IP, shutter the company completely, and have an incredible amount of money to coast on for the rest of his life.

a reply to: Edumakated

Yeah or either go the UPS model of part time.

They think they've won something.

a reply to: RAY1990

There are far more of them than you realize.

And those are vocational, technical and trade schools that don't require 4 years of stuffing 10s of thousands of dollars into the pockets liberal "professor" hacks.

a reply to: neo96

Your math only works out if they're paying them nothing currently. The average warehouse worker gets paid $13/hr.

So this means they're going to be paying their employees an extra $1 billion/yr.

originally posted by: SocratesJohnson
Across the board policies like this is PR.

15 in some markets will be amazing, and in other, it’s still a crap amount.

If they really cared they will use one of their big brain people to come with a formula to make a wage that works in each market and not an arbatrary number

At this point I'll take what I can get because the nothing that's been done so far to help these people sure ain't cutting it.

Out there on the West coast money just flows....
In sight of the Amazon headquarters in Seattle, the union shovel and broom hendlers......make 25 an hour....they are not allowed to touch anything but a broom or a shovel