Following my first year at UVA, I returned home to Springfield, Virginia for the Summer in search of employment. With few options available to me, I found work at an Amazon fulfillment center (a warehouse), and started work at the end of May. For the next four months, I worked 11.5-hour labor-intensive shifts, from 6:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., four days a week, for the privilege to enjoy a $15.95 an hour compensation. As you can probably guess, it was a dream come true.
While I was there, I learned of Amazon's efforts to raise the federal minimum wage, which they proudly publicize. Since 2018, Amazon has held its starting wage at $15 an hour, which is over double the federally required minimum of $7.25 an hour. If Amazon is already willing to compensate their employees at a higher than required rate, then why do they lobby Congress to ask for this regulation?
Ultimately, with massive revenues and market share, Amazon can afford to pay its thousands of warehouse workers and delivery drivers $15 an hour. At the same time, Amazon knows that some of its competitors, without such economies of scale, cannot afford the same costs. An increase in the federal minimum wage would create a barrier to entry for smaller firms incapable of producing with the same costs, giving Amazon even more market power. Who would have guessed that Amazon is acting in their rational self-interest?
No comments:
Post a Comment