Amazon said it would spend nearly $1 billion to raise wages for hourly workers in the U.S. amid criticism of its labor practices and an uphill battle with unions. The raises will result in starting salaries for most warehouse and shipping employees exceeding $19 an hour, while wages in fulfillment and other locations will rise to $16 an hour. The company’s minimum wage will still be $15 an hour.
Amazon is also expanding its “Anytime Pay” program to all employees. They will now be able to receive up to 70 percent of their paycheck at any time without a fee, rather than the usual once or twice a month. The company also added a new development program that allows employees to move into engineering positions after 12 to 14 months of training.
Amazon is second only to Walmart in the total number of employees (more than 1.5 million). Most are hourly workers in warehouses or delivery and retail employees at Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh. The average hourly wage in the U.S. is $32.36, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and $28.10 in the “shipping and warehousing” category.
In April this year, more than 8,000 workers at the Staten Island facility voted to unionize. For its part, Amazon lost its original call for a second vote.
The company also faces a House committee investigation into a deadly warehouse collapse that killed six workers during a tornado. Last June, the committee accused Amazon of “obstructing” the investigation by refusing to turn over critical documents related to the internal review.
