Amazon HQ2 bid

[jayden]

^^^Thats all assuming the Gulch wouldn't be used for the azon headquarters, right?

[Atlanta3000]

This is major news for thousands of workers in Atlanta and across the US. Also note, 100% of Amazon's full and part-time workers get health insurance.

Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

The new minimum wage will benefit more than 250,000 Amazon employees — including part-time and temporary employees — the company said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/02/amazon-raises-minimum-wage-to-15-for-all-us-employees.html

[skyscraperpage17]

They (Bezos / Amazon) only did this for 2 reasons:

1. To let the air out of Bernie Sanders and his supporters' balloon as he kick starts his 2020 campaign for president, so that he can't use Amazon as leverage.

2. To cull the burgeoning union movement within Whole Foods (this just so happens to coincide with the anti-union propaganda that Bezos is brainwashing those employees with right now).

It's hardly out of the goodness of their hearts, nor is there any guarantee they'll continue to adjust wages for inflation going forward.

Don't get me wrong, the fact that these workers are getting a raise is a start and I'm happy for them, but let's not be so quick to get our heads stuck up Bezos' ass for making what is purely a shrewd political move given everything that's going on. He still ain't shit.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

They (Bezos / Amazon) only did this for 2 reasons:

1. To let the air out of Bernie Sanders and his supporters' balloon as he kick starts his 2020 campaign for president, so that he can't use Amazon as leverage.

2. To cull the burgeoning union movement within Whole Foods (this just so happens to coincide with the anti-union propaganda that Bezos is brainwashing those employees with right now).

It's hardly out of the goodness of their hearts, nor is there any guarantee they'll continue to adjust wages for inflation going forward.

Don't get me wrong, the fact that these workers are getting a raise is a start and I'm happy for them, but let's not be so quick to get our heads stuck up Bezos' ass for making what is purely a shrewd political move given everything that's going on. He still ain't shit.

Sorry S-17 but in my opinion you are wrong on both points. If you look at the data, Amazon is raising their pay rate for 2 reasons:

(1) First and most importantly, labor markets. As we go into Q4 and Amazon is going to temporarily need to double their distribution headcount, they need to raise wages in order to compete for talent. Additionally their primary competitor Wal-Mart currently has their minimum pay rate at $15. Although only 40% of Wal-Mart workers have covered health insurance. +1 Amazon.

(2) PR not driven by Bernie Sanders.

[wonshirim]

We surely are living in a polarized time when everybody takes everything politically. Most people don't really care that much about politicians exploiting headlines of the week to fundraise. The whole "Amazon will choose a red state for political cover" argument and "Amazon execs are too liberal for a red state" argument sound like those that can't separate political drama from reality.

Reality: if you're the richest man on Earth with a 12-digit net worth, both parties will drop down on their knees for a taste of your stardust and cash. It's always been that way since the Gilded Age. Even the Roman Empire and the Tang Dynasty. Also, if red state politics was enough to deter corporate headquarters locations, you'll be shocked to hear that Wall Street/Hedge Fund execs, most of whom lean libertarian/right, rush to live and work in one of the most liberal cities in the country. And these people are just as rich as Amazon execs minus Bezos, if not more.

Amazon will be making a business decision on their HQ2. So is the minimum wage increase. The private sector and public sectors are categorized separately for a reason!

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by wonshirim

We surely are living in a polarized time when everybody takes everything politically. Most people don't really care that much about politicians exploiting headlines of the week to fundraise. The whole "Amazon will choose a red state for political cover" argument and "Amazon execs are too liberal for a red state" argument sound like those that can't separate political drama from reality.

Reality: if you're the richest man on Earth with a 12-digit net worth, both parties will drop down on their knees for a taste of your stardust and cash. It's always been that way since the Gilded Age. Even the Roman Empire and the Tang Dynasty. Also, if red state politics was enough to deter corporate headquarters locations, you'll be shocked to hear that Wall Street/Hedge Fund execs, most of whom lean libertarian/right, rush to live and work in one of the most liberal cities in the country. And these people are just as rich as Amazon execs minus Bezos, if not more.

Amazon will be making a business decision on their HQ2. So is the minimum wage increase. The private sector and public sectors are categorized separately for a reason!

Wonshirim are you really saying Amazon is not factoring in the political consequences into the equation for where they select HQ2? Amazon is already considered a liberal company, based in a blue state and their CEO owns the Washington Post. Are you saying if Amazon chooses Boston for their HQ2 it would not impact them short and long term because politics doesn't matter? Come one - you are not that naive.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Sorry S-17 but in my opinion you are wrong on both points. If you look at the data, Amazon is raising their pay rate for 2 reasons:

(1) First and most importantly, labor markets. As we go into Q4 and Amazon is going to temporarily need to double their distribution headcount, they need to raise wages in order to compete for talent. Additionally their primary competitor Wal-Mart currently has their minimum pay rate at $15. Although only 40% of Wal-Mart workers have covered health insurance. +1 Amazon.

(2) PR not driven by Bernie Sanders.

ATL3K, can you please providea link about this $15 mimimum wage at Walmart?

I tend to follow labor market trends intensely, but I may have missed that change.

[wonshirim]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Wonshirim are you really saying Amazon is not factoring in the political consequences into the equation for where they select HQ2? Amazon is already considered a liberal company, based in a blue state and their CEO owns the Washington Post. Are you saying if Amazon chooses Boston for their HQ2 it would not impact them short and long term because politics doesn't matter? Come one - you are not that naive.

Of course. Nike endorses Colin Kaepernick and SOME conservative extremists flip out for a week. Then Nike stock shoots up. I've never heard a "top 3 market cap" caliber company lose significantly long term just because they are perceived as liberal or conservative. Google's founder Sergey Brin said publicly the 2016 election was an insult and that it offended him. Larry Page even declined to show up to testify on Capitol Hill a couple weeks ago. Almost like teflon. Doesn't affect them as long as they're not engaging in outright illegal activities.

Also, Seattle is probably the most liberal city in the country. There is a self-proclaimed anti-capitalism socialist in their City Council right now. Seattle makes moving to Boston look like a moderate political move. And being Seattle-based hasn't hurt them.

I just can't see non-Democratic party supporters (since this qualifer is more inclusive than "conservatives" because a large chunk of our country is still in the middle) giving up the cheap prices, efficiency and options available via Amazon just because another liberal city won. And this is only the B2C side.

On the B2B side, most of Amazon's PROFITS come from AWS, whose clients are mostly institutions, not individuals. I have yet to see institutional clients base their long-term, mission-critical web infrastructure procurement decisions on political matters.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

ATL3K, can you please providea link about this $15 mimimum wage at Walmart?

I tend to follow labor market trends intensely, but I may have missed that change.

Wal-Mart raised their minimum wage to $11 and will get to $15 by 2020. Target raised their minimum wage this year to $12. Again IMO, Amazon is partly for PR reasons, but mostly to attract the best talent.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walma...ounces-layoffs-on-same-day-idUSKBN1F01N8

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Wal-Mart raised their minimum wage to $11 and will get to $15 by 2020.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walma...ounces-layoffs-on-same-day-idUSKBN1F01N8

The article you linked says Target, not Walmart.

Regardless, come on man, think about it. This is the same man who counter attacked Bernie Sanders a few weeks ago claiming his compensation was more than fair. And these are low-skilled jobs which are hardly suffering from any labor shortage (they're a dime a dozen in fact).

Given that nothing fundamentally has changed with the state of the economy since Q4 '17 to justify such a wage hike, what other reason would he have a sudden change if not for political reasons?

Don't fall for the Okie-Doke.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

The article you linked says Target, not Walmart.

Regardless, come on man, think about it. This is the same man who counter attacked Bernie Sanders a few weeks ago claiming his compensation was more than fair. And these are low-skilled jobs which are hardly suffering from any labor shortage (they're a d8me a fozen in fact).

Given that nothing fundamentally has changed with the state of the economy since Q4 '17 to justify such a wage hike, what other reason would he have a sudden change if not for political reasons?

Don't fall for the Okie-Doke.

I am not sure what you are clicking on, but the article I linked looks like this:

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Regardless, come on man, think about it. This is the same man who counter attacked Bernie Sanders a few weeks ago claiming his compensation was more than fair. And these are low-skilled jobs which are hardly suffering from any labor shortage (they're a d8me a fozen in fact).

Given that nothing fundamentally has changed with the state of the economy since Q4 '17 to justify such a wage hike, what other reason would he have a sudden change if not for political reasons?

Don't fall for the Okie-Doke.

If you follow labor markets intensely, how could you possibly miss these headlines? Do a Google search and there is thousands of articles on this topic.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/...6cb742_story.html?utm_term=.b88b062b4920

https://www.dailyherald.com/business/201...robots-x2014-retailers-need-people-power

https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/art...ng-Bay-Area-retailers-still-13222075.php

https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2018/unemployment-part-time-seasonal-jobs-macys-jcpenney/

[skyscraperpage17]

delete

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

I am not sure what you are clicking on, but the article I linked looks like this:

Yes, Walmart hiked their minimum wage, but only to $11 hour as your screenshot shows.

(BTW, just FYI, Amazon was already paying a minimum of $12.75/hr from what I hear)

You're getting that $15/hr number confused with Target. From further down in the article you referenced:

"Rival retailer Target Corp raised its minimum wage to $11 in September, and said it would raise its minimum wage to $15 by 2020."

[Mentallect]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Yes, Walmart hiked their minimum wage, but only to $11 hour as your screenshot shows.

(BTW, just FYI, Amazon was already paying a minimum of $12.75/hr from what I hear)

You're getting that $15/hr number confused with Target. From further down in the article you referenced:

"Rival retailer Target Corp raised its minimum wage to $11 in September, and said it would raise its minimum wage to $15 by 2020."

Bernie Sanders is 90% of the reason Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15. Amazon has the least favor ability ratings of any S&P 500 company. Bezo's homeless initiative as well as the wage increase by Amazon is because its image is toxic, and DC regulators are looking to break up Amazon.

[skyscraperpage17]

I have no doubt that if Bernie Sanders wins in 2020, he will pursue trust busting Amazon and make life extremely difficult for the company. Bezos knows this, and he also knows Sanders is the most popular politician in the country, and thus is a threat.

As Bezos said, he already has an idea of what the future entails 3-4 years out. Don't think this was an exception, and don't think it had anything to do with him being altruistic or being worried about competition (Amazon's fucking killing Walmart and Target).

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

I have no doubt that if Bernie Sanders wins in 2020, he will pursue trust busting Amazon and make life extremely difficult for the company. Bezos knows this, and he also knows Sanders is the most popular politician in the country, and thus is a threat.

As Bezos said, he already has an idea of what the future entails 3-4 years out. Don't think this wasn't an exception, and don't think it had anything to do with him being altruistic or being worried about competition (Amazon's fucking killing Walmart and Target).

Bernie Sanders albeit great for the cause has zero chances of being the parties nominee or next President. Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker or Kamala Harris are the ones to watch. These 3 are friggin rockstars.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

Bernie Sanders is 90% of the reason Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15. Amazon has the least favor ability ratings of any S&P 500 company. Bezo's homeless initiative as well as the wage increase by Amazon is because its image is toxic, and DC regulators are looking to break up Amazon.

I don't know about any S&P ranking, but USA Today did a ranking of Top US Consumer Brands and Amazon was ranked #2. JD Powers ranked Amazon #1 in customer satisfactions. So I think they are doing alright.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/09/27/americas-top-brands/37872201/

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

...Cory Booker or Kamala Harris are the ones to watch. These 3 are friggin rockstars.

And to that, I say, brace yourself for 4 more years of Trump.

[bigstick]

wow 15 AN HOUR TO WORK LIKE A SLAVE AND have a shit boss, terrible schedule all hours of the day//sounds like a dream.....gravel to get time off to go to the doc, dentist, etc,,,holidays...