Half of Amazon warehouse workers struggle to cover food, housing costs, report finds
By Megan Cerullo
Edited By Anne Marie D. Lee
Updated on: May 15, 2024 / 9:47 PM EDT / CBS News
Roughly half of frontline warehouse workers at Amazon are having trouble making ends meet, a new report shows. The study comes five years after the online retailer raised minimum hourly wages to $15.
Fifty-three percent of workers said they experienced food insecurity in the previous three months, while 48% said they had trouble covering rent or housing costs over the same time period, according to a report from the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois Chicago. Another 56% of warehouse workers who sort, pack and ship goods to customers said they weren't able to pay their bills in full.
"This research indicates just how far the goalposts have shifted. It used to be the case that big, leading firms in the economy provided a path to the middle class and relative economic security," Dr. Sanjay Pinto, senior fellow at CUED and co-author of the report, said in a statement Wednesday. "Our data indicate that roughly half of Amazon's front-line warehouse workers are struggling with food and housing insecurity and being able to pay their bills. That's not what economic security looks like."
Despite working for one of the largest and most profitable companies in the U.S., Amazon warehouse employees appear to be so strained financially that one-third has relied on at least one publicly funded assistance program, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The report's data reveals what appears to be a gulf between what these workers earn and any measure of economic stability.
The researchers included survey responses from 1,484 workers in 42 states. The Ford Foundation, Oxfam America and the National Employment Law Project backed the work.
Linda Howard, an Amazon warehouse worker in Atlanta, said the pay for employees like herself pales in comparison to the physical demands of the job.
"The hourly pay at Amazon is not enough for the backbreaking work … For the hard work we do and the money Amazon makes, every associate should make a livable wage," she said in a statement.
The report also highlights the financial destruction that can occur when warehouse workers take unpaid time off after being hurt or tired from the job.
Sixty-nine percent of Amazon warehouse workers say they've had to take time off to cope with pain or exhaustion related to work, and 60% of those who take unpaid time off for such reasons report experiencing food insecurity, according to the research.
"The findings we report are the first we know of to show an association between the company's health and safety issues and experiences of economic insecurity among its workforce," said Dr. Beth Gutelius, research director at CUED and co-author of the report. "Workers having to take unpaid time off due to pain or exhaustion are far more likely to experience food and housing insecurity, and difficulty paying their bills."
Amazon disputed the survey's findings.
"The methodology cited in this paper is deeply flawed – it's a survey that ignores best practices for surveying, has limited verification safeguards to confirm respondents are Amazon employees, and doesn't prevent multiple responses from the same person," a spokesperson for Amazon said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.
The company added that its average hourly pay in the U.S. is now $20.50.
In April, the company criticized earlier research from the groups that focused on workplace safety and surveillance at Amazon warehouses.
"While we respect Oxfam and its mission, we have strong disagreements with the characterizations and conclusions made throughout this paper — many based on flawed methodology and hyperbolic anecdotes," Amazon said in part of the earlier research. Amazon also cast doubt on the veracity of the responses used in the Oxfam report; the company said it believed researchers could not verify that respondents actually worked for Amazon.
“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

First of all if it is a one time payment of 32000 then it is not a raise it is a bonus.
Second of all it is not a zero sum game. In order for a person to make himself wealthy he has to spread it around. Look at Gates or Bezos. They employ millions and millions more benefit from what they do. Without people like that we would all be worse off.
Third, Sanders is one to talk. He himself is a millionaire. But unlike Bezos or Gates he employs only a few, benefits only a few. And how did a man in his position become a millionaire. He did not provide valuable goods or services to society. And he certainly wasn't paid enough as a congressman. Doesnt smell right. No congressman should be able to become a millionaire in office.
Trump is still your President. Charlie Kirk still Wins!

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

Fake news

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

Well done.
The Lion does not give a fuck. Bring. More. Sheep.

I've always been wired for unfiltered truth, no matter who it offends.

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

^^retarded ******
I've always been wired for unfiltered truth, no matter who it offends.

LOL
And the sad truth is people actually buy what Bernie is selling.

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

Without strife, your victory has no meaning.
Without strife, you do not advance.
Without strife, there is only stagnation.

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

Wonder if AOC is playing with his cock…

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

^^ Bernie stole his woman
My password is password.

Bernie is literally describing himself and people like him. Not rich and successful business owners, they haven't taken anything from the bottom 90%, but people like Bernie, multi-millionaires who have been career useless people and been a government leech their entire lives. Bernie has never held a real job, his money literally comes from stealing from the regular Americans. Bernie is the worst, and scummiest of the scum in government. Just an evil, immoral piece of ****.
"I am Kamala Harris, my pronouns are she and her, and I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit." -A fucking idiot

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

This is the message Democrats should be running on! They would win every election if they went after the rich!

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”

I've always been wired for unfiltered truth, no matter who it offends.

I'll rape you to death and then we'll see who the fag is.
My password is password.

“How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized… is something our descendants will study.”