'When We Fight, We Win': Amazon Boosts Pay as Workers Launch Bid for $25 an Hour
"Today shows that Amazon workers are united and stronger than ever in our demands for higher pay," said one warehouse worker and organizer.
As Amazon workers across the United States launched a campaign demanding at least $25 an hour, the e-commerce giant announced Wednesday that it is raising hourly pay for its warehouse workers and drivers.
In what Amazon vice president of worldwide operations Udit Madan called the company's "biggest-ever investment in pay and benefits," the average starting pay for U.S. fulfillment and transportation workers will rise starting this month.
"Members of our front-line team will be getting at least an additional $1.50/hour starting this month, which will bring their average base wage to more than $22/hour and average total compensation to more than $29/hour when you include the value of their elected benefits," such as healthcare, said Madan, who added that the workers will also receive free Amazon Prime subscriptions.
While the Amazon workers who launched the drive for $25 welcomed the announcement, they say they deserve more.
"I've lost out on thousands of dollars of income. I haven't gotten a paycheck since my short-term disability—which only covered 60% of my regular pay—ended in January," said Christine, a worker at Amazon's STL8 fulfillment center in Missouri and longtime member of the STL8 Organizing Committee.
"I'm awaiting approval for long-term disability, which I applied for back in January," explained Christine, who was injured on the job. "I've maxed out my credit cards and drained my 401(k). I'm on food stamps. I just got approved for Medicaid. At one point I started a GoFundMe just to make rent. I've never been in the position of having to ask for money, but the alternative was homelessness. When you're forced into that position, you do what it takes to survive."
"Today shows that Amazon workers are united and stronger than ever in our demands for higher pay," she added. "With over 800 worker signatures on our petition and new workers joining us from across the region, together we will win the $25 an hour that we all deserve."
According to the campaign:
Research suggests working families need at least $25 to make it by. In Missouri, for example, a livable wage for a family of four is at least $25; in New York, the livable wage is even higher, at $39. However, a majority of Amazon warehouse workers reported earning wages between $16 and $20—before Amazon increased starting pay to $17 in September 2023. Amazon itself reports an average pay of $20.50.
"The $1 raise that Amazon gave workers last year was shameful. After accounting for inflation, it wasn't even a raise," lamented Irene Tung, senior researcher and policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project. "Our research has shown that Amazon tends to locate its warehouses in high earnings counties around the country, but lags behind other warehouse employers in pay—even though it can afford to pay workers much more."
Advocates point to Amazon's $30.4 billion 2023 profits as proof that the company can afford to pay its workers more.
"Raising pay by 25% would bring Amazon workers much closer to a middle-income standard of earnings," Tung said. "Given Amazon's size and the enormity of its wealth, it is not far-fetched to ask why this company has thus far failed at creating middle-income jobs for the hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers that power its operations."
Beth Gutelius—the author of Handling Hardship: Data on Economic Insecurity Among Amazon Warehouse Workers—said in a statement that "if warehouse wages had kept pace with inflation, workers would be earning $25.66 an hour—so workers are simply asking Amazon to bring wages in line with the cost of living, which as we know has risen sharply."
"Doing so would help ensure that workers are able to meet their basic needs without relying on public assistance," she added.
