Amazon Raises Minimum Wage to $15 for All Employees
*By Carlo Versano*
Amazon said Tuesday it will raise the minimum wage for all its workers in the U.S. to $15 an hour.
The e-commerce giant announced in a [blog post](https://blog.aboutamazon.com/working-at-amazon/amazon-raises-minimum-wage-to-15-for-all-us-employees) that the change would be effective Nov. 1, include all full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees and that there would be no conditions attached to the raise.
Further, Jay Carney, the former Obama press secretary who heads Amazon ($AMZN) corporate affairs, said the company will advocate for an increase in the federal minimum wage, which has been at $7.25 since 2009.
The company said 250,000 employees and 100,000 seasonal hires will benefit from the changes. Whole Foods employees, who have begun organizing for a union, will be included. Amazon bought Whole Foods last year for nearly $14 billion.
In a press release, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said, "We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we wanted to lead."
Amazon has been under increasing pressure from Congress, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), over wages and work conditions at its fulfillment centers.
The new Pixel 8 smartphone released this week by Google includes an AI photo editing software that will allow users to change the expression of a person in pictures.
If you have some older comic books stashed away in your attic, basement or closet, make sure to check their condition as they could be traded for serious cash. Cheddar News' Michelle Castillo at New Yor Comic Con spoke with Chris D'Lando, event manager with NYCC for Reedpop; Andy Mourat, co-founder and president of MetaZoo; and Julian Montoya, senior vice president of The Noble Collection, to get their thoughts.
Eliott Wellenbach, vice president and institutional ETF strategist with Direxion, joined Cheddar News to explain how investors are bracing for interest rate hikes after last week's inflation report and ahead of the Fed's upcoming meeting. Wellenbach also discussed how traders are taking advantage of volatility as earnings season continues and amid geopolitical conflicts.
One of the most difficult parts of a job search is writing resumes. Cheddar News' docuseries Ready 4 Work explores the pitfalls of that and helps job seekers stand out from all those other applicants.
