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Those who have already earned $ 15 will receive an extra dollar an hour when the change comes next month, but they will also lose two benefits they counted on: monthly bonuses and a chance to own Amazon shares.
NEW YORK (AP) – Amazon's announcement to increase its minimum hourly wage to US $ 15 was seen as a win for workers. But some longtime employees say they are losing.
Those who have already earned $ 15 will receive an extra dollar per hour when the change comes next month, but they will also lose two benefits they count on: monthly bonuses of up to hundreds of dollars and a chance to own the stock in the future. Amazon's arrow, current value of nearly $ 2,000 per share.
At least four long-time workers, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of being fired, said that the $ 1 increase in the price of $ 1 was the only reason the company had been banned. time would not compensate for lost profits. Employees, all of whom work in different warehouses across the country, said the minimum wage of $ 15 was good for new employees, but the calculations did not work for those who worked in the warehouse. Amazon for a few years.
Sending to the Seattle Times, two other warehouse employees in the state of Washington said that in their view, the changes would result in lower wages for some.
"I feel extremely disrespectful," said a worker in a warehouse in northeastern Maryland. "Those who are faithful should be rewarded for their loyalty, not slapped in the face."
According to Amazon, the salary increase will benefit more than 350,000 workers, including full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal positions, as well as those of its Whole Foods grocery chain. Economists have said that this measure could put pressure on other big employers to raise their salaries.
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Amazon said in a statement that the changes mean that "the compensation will be more immediate and predictable". The Seattle-based company, which has more than 100 warehouses in the country, said that "the sharp rise in hourly cash wages more than compensated for" the benefits that would accrue. to be eliminated.
But others dispute that.
"They must have some other type of calculator than us," said an employee of a Pennsylvania warehouse, who estimated she would lose about $ 3,000 a year.
From January to September, she earned about $ 150 a month in bonuses, which were tied to the warehouse's attendance and productivity goals. But she earned another $ 400 a month in October, November and December, during the busy holiday shopping season, when Amazon doubles bonuses to encourage workers to show up at the hour and prepare their parcels more. quickly.
"They have removed all the incentives to work very hard," she said, estimating that raising one dollar would give her about $ 160 more a month.
Amazon said its stock program, which usually included one or two Amazon shares when they started, and then one per year, would be replaced by a method that allows workers to buy shares next year, but does not provide details. Workers said the warehouse managers did not know how it would work.
"Who earns $ 16.25 an hour will have $ 2,000 to buy a stock?" Said the person who works in North East, Maryland.
Thomas Kochan, a professor at the Sloan Institute for Labor and Employment Research at MIT, said that gaining benefits from long-tenured workers could result in faster turnover. He added that Amazon needed to communicate better with workers if the overall pay was higher "or if you are going to have morale problems".
An employee in a Washington warehouse said he read articles about the new minimum wage, but his manager did not say so. "It looks nice, but the salary will probably be even lower," he said. The company, he added, does not tend to communicate well with front-line warehouse workers.
The workers said that the warehouse managers responsible for informing them of the changes did not seem to know the answer to certain questions. Those who called the hotline for employees looking for answers heard a pre-recorded message: the Employee Resource Center "has no additional information that we can share with you at Current time ".
Many workers have called Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' office, which criticized Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for paying what he described as low wages, but congratulated the company for raising the minimum hourly wage.
In a statement, the independent senator said: "We understand that the vast majority of Amazonian workers will see their wages rise. I hope that, thanks to the new policy of Amazon, no worker, especially long-time employees, will see a reduction in total compensation. Amazon can afford to integrate all workers and should do it. "
One person, who has been working in a warehouse in Phoenix for several years, said that losing benefits meant that working at Amazon was now "like any other warehouse".
"I'm updating my resume," he said.
Seattle Times reporter Matt Day contributed to the report.
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