Amazon workers are dividing as the company raises the minimum wage

Instead of partying, many employees raise their hands to ask questions and express deep frustration, according to five employees of the establishment. They asked why people who had been working in the company's warehouse for years would now be paid the same way as new employees and temporary help at the holidays, according to workers.

"People seemed really depressed because now [seasonal] workers earn $ 15 an hour, "said Chip Litchfield, delighted to see his salary go from $ 11.50 per hour to a program called Amazon CamperForce, which allows people living in recreational vehicles to work in certain centers. during the holiday season. " We are only a group of older people that they bring in a few months a year. "

Amazon's decision to raise its minimum wage has been widely hailed as a victory for workers and a model for other major American companies, even going as far as applause among personalities as varied as Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who had already stood up against the treatment reserved for the company. workers and Larry Kudlow, chief economic advisor to President Donald Trump.

But after 24 hours, questions began to arise about the generosity of this move. Amazon has also announced a reduction in bonuses and stock grants, and some seasoned employees say they are devalued and are afraid to end up with less money than they have now.

It's impossible to know how much Amazon's action is magnanimous – the company said it would incur expenses, but did not specify the scale of its action . However, the split reaction of some of the 250,000 full-time employees and the 100,000 seasonal employees highlights one of Amazon's biggest growth-straining growths. It is likely that no company has hired more people in recent years than Amazon, which has opened distribution centers at breakneck speed.

Yet while seeking to maintain a satisfied workforce and repel critics claiming that the company does not treat its employees well, Amazon must minimize costs and optimize the efficiency of its warehouses to continue to strengthen its formidable position on online commerce. products in as little as one hour.

"Increasing their minimum wage to $ 15 was the first easy step," said Paul Sonn, director of public policy at the National Employment Law Law Project. "Amazon is torn: they do not want to be considered a bad employer, but they are an aggressive cost factor."

Today, Amazon is the second largest employer in the United States and most of its jobs are creations from the era of e – commerce. Rather than engage in the type of extreme automation that many fear job destruction, the company relied on a new type of work: "collectors" and "packers", as they are called, in large warehouses that track the goods at the speed of the chain, guided by a pocket computer, and put them in a box for delivery.

The jobs are midway between retail and traditional factory work. And the salary reflects that.

The median wage for all Amazon workers is $ 28,446 per year ($ 13.68 per hour), a figure that the company revealed this year for the first time due to a new regulatory requirement . This is a global figure that includes both full-time and part-time workers. Glassdoor, a job site, said the average salary for US order processing centers was $ 13 at the hour, according to nearly 900 people who submitted their data to the site.

Amazon's compensation is well above the $ 10.28 hourly rate that a retail trade worker earns, but it's below the $ 15.53 that an employee's 39, median warehouse is paid, according to data from the Department of Labor.

The executive director of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, who is also the owner of the Washington Post, has decided to raise Amazon's minimum wage to $ 15. This is a bold initiative to "encourage our competitors and other big employers" to join him. But economists point out that Amazon is doing it at a time when almost all companies are complaining about not being able to recruit enough workers. the unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969.

A higher starting salary should help Amazon attract workers to its doors, but it is not clear how veterans will cope and what will happen to retention.

"For me, it sounds like a publicity stunt from Bezos, the headline looks nice, until you realize we're losing important benefits," an employee said. Full time installation of Amazon in Murfreesboro who spoke under the guise of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Amazon spokeswoman Ashley Robinson said in an email that all workers would see a "cash wage increase", with employees currently earning $ 14.01 or more receiving a dollar increase. She could not guarantee that every worker would come out better, but she said, "Our intention is certainly for employees to see an increase in pay."

Longtime employees say they should get a $ 3 increase, so their pay is close to $ 18 an hour, especially since Amazon eliminates bonuses, which often add 8% per month to their earnings.

Jobs in Amazon's warehouses can be draining, physically and mentally. Nearly every one of the 18 past and present workers surveyed under this article stated that they were taking Advil after work or were bathing or rubbing their feet at night, and many said that they were referring to workers who had been there for a few months as "Amazombies" because they develop a zoned look from monotonous work.

"Our roles are more comparable to those of retailers in the United States," Robinson said. "We believe that jobs at the Amazon Distribution Center are great jobs because they provide a great place to acquire the skills to start and develop a career."

The company has been facing more and more criticism about how it treats its staff – information that some employees need food stamps to get to articles about storage conditions. The company has generally reacted by saying that some critics were wrong and exaggerated, while committing to take steps to improve its situation.

"As a company, Amazon is constantly creating new jobs and one of the reasons we can attract people to join us is that our number one priority is to ensure a positive and safe work environment," said M Robinson.

According to most workers who have talked about this article, the main problem is the fact that Amazon sets quotas for the number of items to select, sort or pack each day, and it can be difficult to answer to this requirement while having time to hurry. warehouse in the rest room or bathroom during a 15-minute break.

Amazon is defending its quota system, claiming that it is a standard practice and that there are support programs for people who do not achieve the expected levels.

Most workers said that Amazon was candid about employment and that its pay and benefits were good for people without a university degree. Some workers have the same attitude about raising the minimum wage.

"It's a winner-loser for some people, but for others, like me, who do not care about stocks or getting bonuses, earning $ 15 an hour makes a big difference," he said. said a California worker whose salary was soon from $ 13.15 to $ 15, and who requested anonymity because he did not want to have any trouble for talking to the media.

In its statement announcing the increase, Amazon said workers preferred predictable cash payments to grants and bonuses. All full-time Amazon employees were eligible for free shares.

Amazon has increasingly shaped the job market in the United States since opening its first distribution center in 1997. But while employment at Amazon and other e-commerce sites has skyrocketed in the US. In the 2000s and early 2010s, the average salary of warehouse workers was down. level, according to data from the Department of Labor analyzed by the accounting firm Grant Thornton.

The average earnings of warehouse workers rose from 20.85 USD per hour in 2000 to less than 16 USD in 2013 (both figures are adjusted for inflation and in current dollars). The trend has only recently begun to reverse, with average warehouse earnings reaching $ 17.50 this year.

"Warehousing and distribution were once more skilled jobs than today, so wages have been reduced, even though these jobs require enormous effort," said Diane. Swonk, Senior Economist at Grant Thornton. "E-commerce companies do not care about turnover rates, they think all workers are interchangeable, much like Henry Ford."

Some of the issues regarding Amazon's work practices are rooted in the company's efforts to be very effective with its workforce.

Marc Wulfraat, president of MWPVL International, a logistics consulting company that records Amazon's business, has trusted the company. The use of seasonal workers has long been a reality in the retail trade, especially at Christmas time, but Amazon has adopted it on a larger scale, he said.

"They are trying to cut costs, which is why they are doing it," Wulfraat said, noting that Amazon's storage capacity is expected to overtake Walmart's capacity for the first time this year. (Amazon says that more than half of its seasonal workers working in distribution centers work directly.)

A typical industrial or manufacturing warehouse employs one worker per 1,500 to 3,000 square feet, while an online trading business requires one employee per 700 to 1,000 square feet, according to the JLL real estate company.

Workers say that items in Amazon's warehouses are not sorted methodically, with for example office supplies in one area and shoes in another. Instead, items are immediately placed on the available shelf when they arrive at the warehouse. Harvesters rely on pocket screens that tell them where to locate something, they say.

Here in Murfreesboro, home to one of Amazon's 110 processing centers in North America, Integrity Staffing Solutions announced temporary jobs at the center for $ 12.25 per hour, with no guarantee of being hired. by Amazon.

The salary is higher than the $ 8 starting salary of the Dollar General cashiers just down the street, but it is lower than the $ 16 hourly salary announced at Interstate Warehousing, an installation refrigeration located in front of the street.

In addition to traditional temporary workers, Amazon created a seasonal program in 2009 called CamperForce. These workers, often over the age of 55, live full time in RVs while working from September or October until December 23rd in some distribution centers.

Many participants at CamperForce say that it is a good deal for them because in a few months they will be able to earn enough to not have to work a lot the rest of the year.

Amazon also benefits by encouraging low-cost migrant workers to move wherever they want.

Participants at CamperForce do not receive benefits and their salary here is lower than that of full – time workers, but the company supports camping fees, including electricity.

"CamperForce is good for them, and it's good for us," said Litchfield, a 59-year-old Vermont, who is participating in the program for the second time with his girlfriend, Penni Brink. They think that with overtime, they can earn nearly $ 14,000 for their 14-week stay.

"I just hope they'll come back to us next year," he said.

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This article was written by Heather Long, a Washington Post reporter.