Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 following Bernie Sanders pressure

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Cliff
Owen/AP

• Amazon announced on Tuesday it is raising its minimum
  wage in the US to $15.
• CEO Jeff Bezos said the company had “listened to our
  critics.”
• The decision follows sustained pressure from Senator
  Bernie Sanders, who has attacked Amazon and Bezos over the
  company’s low wages.

Amazon has announced it is raising its minimum wage in the US to
$15, following sustained pressure from Democratic Senator Bernie
Sanders.

In a
statement released on Tuesday, Amazon said the salary
increase, which is more than double the federal minimum wage
of  $7.25, will come into effect on November 1. 

It will impact more than 250,000 Amazon employees, plus more than
100,000 seasonal staff who work for Amazon over the holiday
season.

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

Jay Carney, senior vice president of Amazon’s global corporate
affairs, added: “We will be working to gain Congressional support
for an increase in the federal minimum wage. The current rate of
$7.25 was set nearly a decade ago.

“We intend to advocate for a minimum wage increase that will have
a profound impact on the lives of tens of millions of people and
families across this country.”

This decision follows sustained pressure from Senator Bernie
Sanders, who has
attacked Amazon for how little it pays its workers, and

introduced a bill in September entitled “Stop BEZOS,” which
would tax large companies whose low-wage employees rely on
government assistance.

This is developing.