Amazon Renews Call for a $15 Federal Minimum Wage

Amazon has thrown its support behind the Raise the Wage Act, a bill reintroduced by Democrats in the House and Senate on Tuesday to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. Jay Carney, senior vice president of Amazon Global Corporate Affairs, said the ecommerce giant “applauds the authors and co-sponsors” of the bill and will continue to advocate for its passage in Congress. “President Biden has made clear his support for an increase in the minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009,” wrote Carney, who was director of communications for Vice President Biden in 2009-2010. “Passing the Raise the Wage Act would increase incomes for millions of employees and revitalize the national economy.” Amazon raised the minimum wage for its own employees to $15 an hour in 2018. Carney noted the result was a “positive impact on employee morale and retention,” and applications for hourly positions more than doubled in the immediate aftermath. “We were thrilled when several other major companies—including Target, Best Buy and Costco—also increased wages to at least $15 an hour for their employees,” Carney wrote. “We are hopeful that more follow suit.” That “more” notably includes Walmart, whose employees have been calling for a $15 minimum wage since at least June 2019. Earlier this month, CEO Doug McMillon reportedly said that $7.25 an hour is too low. However, McMillon supports a revised minimum wage that takes into account regional differences and local small businesses. Just this morning, Walmart announced it is expanding its automated fulfillment centers throughout the country. And while svp of customer product Tom Ward did not talk about the implications for Walmart’s labor force, Gartner analyst Chelsea Gross said the increase in online orders over the past year has also increased retailers’ labor costs, so she expects to see more cost-cutting measures like this on the backend. This isn’t the first time Amazon has called on other retailers to raise their hourly wages. In CEO Jeff Bezos’ 2018 shareholder letter, he wrote, “Today I challenge our top retail competitors (you know who you are!) to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage. Do it! Better yet, go to $16 and throw the gauntlet back at us. It’s a kind of competition that will benefit everyone.” Delivery Services Are Set to Be Amazon’s Next Billion-Dollar Business

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