What Amazon’s new $15 minimum wage signals for worker pay

October 3, 2018 Good morning! Seattle and San Francisco have it; so do New York State and Ben & Jerry’s. Now, Amazon does too. In a move that will likely affect more than 300,000 U.S. workers, the second-largest employer in the U.S. has raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour. The decision, while promising in a country that hasn’t raised its federal minimum wage, at $7.25 an hour, since 2009, it wasn’t exactly altruistically motivated. Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos—the richest man in the world—have been under fire for years for both the conditions workers endure in the company’s warehouses and fulfillment centers, and the stark contrast between Bezos’s wealth and the earnings of workers in those facilities. In creating a wage floor, Amazon is setting a company-wide standard that will contribute to pay equity across the company, and hopefully encourage it to think more in-depth about other ways it can protect workers. What remains to be seen is [what kind of effect this will have on the broader labor landscape in America](. Amazon has pledged to advocate for higher wages at the federal level, but given its outsized influence on businesses in America, it’s not improbable that others will follow suit and begin adopting a $15 wage floor, too. —[Eillie Anzilotti]( [What Amazon’s new $15 minimum wage signals for worker pay]( [What Amazon’s new $15 minimum wage signals for worker pay]( The new wage floor will provide a major cash infusion for workers, force other companies to consider their wages, and empower activists fighting for better pay. [Design needs more feminism, less toxic masculinity]( [Design needs more feminism, less toxic masculinity]( More grandmothers, too. [Inside Silicon Valley’s newest, most autonomous farm yet]( [Inside Silicon Valley’s newest, most autonomous farm yet]( Iron Ox’s robots are currently planting, growing, and harvesting lettuce in a California warehouse. [10 outrageous CEO stunts in history that changed business]( [10 outrageous CEO stunts in history that changed business]( What do Heinz, Chanel, Wrigley, and Bezos have in common? A propensity for ballyhoo that drove their businesses forward [This startup is redesigning the products hidden under your sink]( [This startup is redesigning the products hidden under your sink]( Society, a marketplace for non-toxic home goods, eschews typical packaging and embraces design inspired by artists like Ellsworth Kelly and Josef Albers. [Microsoft retools its productivity vision for the era of tech distraction]( [Microsoft retools its productivity vision for the era of tech distraction]( Rather than grabbing your attention at will, Microsoft’s new Surface hardware and Windows features aim to help you focus on what matters. [How the generation wars are playing out in the Golden State]( [How the generation wars are playing out in the Golden State]( The cost of living in California may eventually result in millennials gaining the upper hand over entitled baby boomers. [This is how competition affects your brain, motivation, and productivity]( [This is how competition affects your brain, motivation, and productivity]( Competition can increase motivation, improve productivity and performance, and provide accountability and validation. Here’s how you can use competition to boost your team’s performance. [The creepy sci-fi advertising in Netflix’s “Maniac” is closer to reality than we think]( [The creepy sci-fi advertising in Netflix’s “Maniac” is closer to reality than we think]( Series creator Patrick Somerville talks with us about synthetic intimacy and the ideas behind Ad Buddy and Friend Proxy. Share This Newsletter Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe [here!]( Like this email? Consider signing up for our other newsletters [here](. Too many emails? Update your subscription preferences [here](. No longer want to receive this newsletter? Unsubscribe [here](. Mansueto Ventures, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195