Does Congress Deserve Credit for Amazon's Wage Hike? Rep. Khanna Thinks So
*By Carlo Versano*
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) wants some credit for Amazon's new company-wide policy to hike its minimum wage to $15.
The progressive congressman representing California's 17th district has [sponsored](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-ro-khanna-to-amazon-pay-your-workers-a-living-wage) a House bill to complement Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) "Stop BEZOS Act." Khanna said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar he thinks his legislation applied more pressure to Amazon ($AMZN), which was already under scrutiny for the working conditions of its factory employees.
"It's a major, major victory," Khanna said. "I think \[Bezos\] has really set the bar."
Amazon's wage hike will go into effect Nov. 1 for 350,000 full-time, part-time, and temporary employees. The company said it will also lobby Congress to increase the minimum wage at a federal level.
To Khanna, whose district includes Silicon Valley, the move by Amazon ー based in Seattle ー will cause shockwaves and likely inspire other large corporations to act. "It's going to eviscerate the argument that you can't be profitable and pay $15 wages," he said.
"If Amazon can do it, a lot of other companies can do it."
Khanna also spoke about the federal government's injunction against California for its new net neutrality law. He said the position taken by the FCC and Chairman Ajit Pai undermines the concept of federalism, which Republicans claim to value. But the reality may be quite different.
"There is no jurisdiction to take away from what the state is doing," he said.
Pai filed suit soon after California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation establishing net neutrality protections for Californians over the weekend. Pai argued that the internet by its very nature constitutes interstate commerce and thus should be regulated federally.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-ro-khanna-amazon-set-the-bar-by-raising-minimum-wage).
Skift airline reporter Meghna Maharishi breaks down how the government shutdown is hitting air traffic control—and what it means for travelers and flight safety
Aya Kantorovich, Co-CEO of August Digital, breaks down Bitcoin’s surge, crypto ETFs, institutional investment trends, and the future of safer crypto access.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
Sinead O’Sullivan breaks down Taylor Swift’s genius marketing for The Life of a Showgirl, which just set the record for most albums sold in a single week.
Markets are emerging from a turbulent Q3. Horizon’s Mike Dickson shares insights on interest rates, small caps, and where investors should look in Q4 and beyond
Bambu Ventures's Kyle Pretsch dives into Lemonaid’s $10M buyout, down from 23andMe’s $400M price tag, and what’s next after Chrome Co.’s dramatic pivot.
Former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers learned all about technology’s volatile highs and lows as a veteran of the internet’s early boom days during the late 1990s and the ensuing meltdown that followed the mania. And now he is seeing potential signs of the cycle repeating with another transformative technology in artificial intelligence. Chambers is trying take some of the lessons he learned while riding a wave that turned Cisco into the world's most valuable company in 2000 before a crash hammered its stock price and apply them as an investor in AI startups. He recently discussed AI's promise and perils during an interview with The Associated Press.
