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 Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years.
Cheddar News' Courtney Sturgeon reports from the Cboe floor with Alan Knuckman, Chief Market Strategist at Bulls Eye Option, to discuss strategies for options traders ahead of a busy trading week amid earnings, the FOMC meeting, and more.
On Tuesday, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) kicked off its first strike in 16 years. Cheddar News' field reporter Ashley Mastronardi spoke with some of those picketing writers who said streaming giants need to catch up with the times and offer a higher wage and a bigger cut of residuals.
Airbnb is making a renewed push into renting single rooms in a nod to its beginnings and a realization that renting an entire house is too expensive for many travelers, especially younger ones.
