Slashdot Mirror
Amazon Will Raise Its Minimum Wage To $15 For All 350,000 US Workers (recode.net)
Amazon said Tuesday it's raising the minimum wage for all 350,000 of its U.S. employees to $15, effective next month. From a report: The new pay threshold will go into effect Nov. 1 and impact all full-time, temporary and seasonal workers across the company's U.S. warehouse and customer service teams as well as Whole Foods, the company said in a blog post. It did not disclose what its current minimum pay wage is for U.S. workers, perhaps in part because there is not one set rate. "We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead," Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. "We're excited about this change and encourage our competitors and other large employers to join us." Alongside the cash compensation bump, Amazon said it will eventually eliminate its practice of granting stock to these workers and will instead institute a program that allows them to purchase Amazon stock through the company. The announcement comes as Amazon faces increased criticism over its pay and treatment of warehouse workers. Senator Bernie Sanders, in particular, has been relentless in his criticism of Amazon over the last few months, proposing a bill that would tax the company as a penalty for having workers who need food stamps and other public assistance to make ends meet.
$5 for an eight hour shift in 1914 dollars would be $123.26 in 2018. $15 times 8 hours is $120. Ford in 1914 paid better than Amazon in 2018.
Not only the Fed, Congress and our alleged Presidents went along with massive reductions in tax receipts and massive increases in spending. Inflation will really bite because to tame it will require the Fed raise interest rates. In a year or so, the U.S. will spend more every year on servicing its debt than it spends on the military.
Now, let us all bow our heads in remembrance of those solemn vows Republicans gave us that the tax cut will pay for itself in the hopes we fail to notice the deficit going to over a Trillion dollars every year. Remember also that Trump once claimed he was the kind of debt. Also remember that he destroys all that he touches.
A different way to calculate the value of $5 in 1915 would be to compare it to house prices. A 48 week year of 5 days a week at $5 would net you $1200, and house prices were ~$3200. So Ford paid around 37.5% the median house price per year. Current median US house price is roughly $200k, so if Bezos wants to deserve a comparison to Ford he needs to up wages to about $39 an hour.
...which is fine. Anti-union campaigns that involve smearing unions and firing unionization advocates suck. Anti-union campaigns that involve improving conditions for workers so they don't need to unionize are a good thing. Even the unions will tell you that.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Current median US house price is roughly $200k, so if Bezos wants to deserve a comparison to Ford he needs to up wages to about $39 an hour.
In 1915, $5 would buy a quarter ounce of gold. To keep up with Ford, Bezos would have to pay ... 1/32 oz/hour ... $1200/oz ... $37.50 an hour. I'd say your math checks out!