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Sanders tabled a Stop Walmart Act on Thursday that would prevent large companies from buying back shares if they do not pay all employees at least $ 15 an hour, allowing workers to earn up to $ 15 an hour. seven days of paid sick leave and limit the CEO's compensation to no more than 150 times the median salary of all staff members.
Calling Walmart the company's greed poster, Sanders said the company had made $ 13 billion in profits last year and paid CEO Doug McMillon more than $ 22 million, 1,188 times more than his typical employee, who earned $ 19,177.
Walmart, who raised his minimum wage to $ 11 an hour last February, said it offered competitive wages and benefits, as well as the opportunity to progress and earn a higher salary.
"We have increased our starting salaries by more than 50% in the last three years and currently have an average total hourly pay of more than $ 17.50 per hour," the company said in a statement. "At the same time, we've also added new benefits such as paid time off, advanced job training, paid family leave, and college education for $ 1 a day."
During a phone conversation with reporters, the Independent Senator of Vermont reiterated his praise to Amazon, saying that he felt that every employee affected by the change was seeing his overall compensation increase, with some employees benefiting. a huge salary increase of up to 50%.
Sanders has also called other profitable companies, including American Airlines and McDonald's, for paying low wages.
Walmart legislation is the latest progressive effort to improve the number of low-income and active Americans. Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who co-sponsored the Bezos and Walmart bills, also wants to reintroduce legislation in January to increase the national minimum wage from $ 15.25 currently to $ 15 per hour.
The bill has better chances in the newly democratically controlled House than in the Senate, which remains in the hands of Republicans.
President Donald Trump has flip-flopped the idea of raising the federal minimum wage during the 2016 presidential campaign, but his director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, recently pronounced it. firmly against the increase of the minimum wage.
Democrats should issue a series of related bills after the next term begins in January. In addition to raising the minimum wage, members will likely seek to strengthen workers' rights and reduce health care costs.
In the current Congress, Democrats have introduced legislation to make overtime available to more workers, providing federal grants to make child care more affordable, strengthening unions, providing paid family and medical leave and driving a guaranteed job program.
While a lot of the politics of the democrats Next year's efforts in the Republican-controlled Senate should result in legislative action that could be of interest to both parties, such as increased infrastructure spending, said Ben Olinsky, senior vice president left center politics and strategy. for American progress.
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