In making the case against a union at its warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., Amazon has touted its compensation package. The company notes that base pay at the facility, around $15.50 an hour for most rank-and-file workers, is more than twice the local minimum wage, and that it offers comprehensive health insurance and retirement benefits.
But to many of Amazon’s Bessemer employees, who are voting this month on whether to unionize, the claims to generosity can ring hollow alongside the demands of the job and local wage rates. The most recent figure for the median wage in greater Birmingham, a metropolitan area of roughly one million people that includes Bessemer, was nearly $3 above Amazon’s pay there, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But other workers emphasize that pay at Amazon isn’t particularly high for the Birmingham area, even if the pandemic has reduced their job options.
The retail workers’ union said it represented employees at nearby warehouses where pay is $18 to $21 an hour, including an ice cream facility and a grocery warehouse not far from Amazon.
I think these are interesting points (though a union in a standoff with Amazon isn't a great source for information), but I don't find them very convincing
For example, it is not surprising that amazon warehouse workers, an unskilled job with minimal required training, make less than a median wage. For example, the average salary of a warehouse worker in Los Angeles (where I live) is $38k/year. The average salary of a paralegal is $45k/year. This is unsurprising. I am not saying that warehouse work is easier than paralegal work, but I am saying that this phenomenon has nothing to do with Amazon.
Further, it is worth noting that Amazon Warehouse jobs are unlike most many other warehouse jobs. Being able to use a pallet jack or forklift is
a skill and that workers with those skills can command higher wages than workers without those skills is again unsurprising.
I think it is hard to objectively analyze the situation by taking talking points from a union in a confrontation with Amazon. $18-$21 with what kind of benefits? For what kind of labor?
A couple of quotes from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/business/economy/amazon-w...
In making the case against a union at its warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., Amazon has touted its compensation package. The company notes that base pay at the facility, around $15.50 an hour for most rank-and-file workers, is more than twice the local minimum wage, and that it offers comprehensive health insurance and retirement benefits.
But to many of Amazon’s Bessemer employees, who are voting this month on whether to unionize, the claims to generosity can ring hollow alongside the demands of the job and local wage rates. The most recent figure for the median wage in greater Birmingham, a metropolitan area of roughly one million people that includes Bessemer, was nearly $3 above Amazon’s pay there, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But other workers emphasize that pay at Amazon isn’t particularly high for the Birmingham area, even if the pandemic has reduced their job options.
The retail workers’ union said it represented employees at nearby warehouses where pay is $18 to $21 an hour, including an ice cream facility and a grocery warehouse not far from Amazon.