Amazon agrees to $15 an hour

Amazon agrees to $15 an hour for warehouse workers amid heat from liberals

By ERIC ENGLEMAN

Amazon said today it will increase its minimum wage to $15, following congressional pressure over the working conditions faced by its warehouse workers.

“We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do and decided we want to lead,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. “We’re excited about this change and encourage our competitors and other large employers to join us.”

The minimum wage increase will be effective Nov. 1, before the holiday shopping season, and apply to full-, part-time, temporary and seasonal workers, the company said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has emerged as a fierce critic of Amazon's treatment of its workers. Last month, Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act, or Stop BEZOS Act, aimed at curbing the number of corporate employees on welfare.

The measure would impose a tax on companies with 500 or more employees to fully compensate for any government benefits their workers draw.

Amazon said today it would also lobby Congress to raise the minimum wage, saying the current rate of $7.25 is nearly a decade old.

The e-commerce giant is currently hunting for a site for its second corporate headquarters, and three Washington, D.C.-area locations are on its list of finalists.

Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, recently defended the newspaper against frequent attacks by President Donald Trump. Trump has also criticized Amazon itself, accusing the company of ripping off the U.S. Postal Service, avoiding taxes and other bad practices.