Five years after Amazon.com raised wages to US$15 (S$20) an hour, half of warehouse workers surveyed by researchers say they struggle to afford enough food or a place to live.
The national study, published on May 15 by the University of Illinois Chicago's Centre for Urban Economic Development, asked US employees about their economic well-being, including whether they skipped meals, went hungry or were worried about being able to make rent or mortgage payments.
Fifty-three per cent of respondents reported that they had experienced one or more forms of food insecurity in the prior three months, and 48 per cent experienced one or more forms of housing insecurity.
Workers who said they took unpaid time off after getting hurt on the job were more likely to report trouble paying their bills, the researchers found.
"It's not necessarily that Amazon's an outlier," said Dr Sanjay Pinto, who co-authored the study with Dr Beth Gutelius. Still, "they're certainly not taking the lead in creating family-sustaining jobs".
In a statement, Amazon spokes man Steve Kelly called the methodology "deeply flawed" and said the company had tried to raise its concerns with the study's authors but never heard back.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 17, 2024-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 17, 2024-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Pritam Singh's trial over alleged lies to Parliament slated to start in Oct
The trial of opposition leader and Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh is slated for October and November, court records on May 31 show.
S'pore units of Shell, ExxonMobil among 9 firms critical to national security under new law
Singapore issued a list of nine companies that will need to seek government approval for changes in their ownership or leadership, among other things, as they are deemed critical to national security interests.
Ingebrigtsen dives to dramatic 1,500m win
Jakob Ingebrigtsen ensured a raucous end to a thrilling Diamond League meet in front of his home fans in Oslo by hurling himself over the line to snatch victory in the men's 1,500m in 3min 29.74sec on May 30.
PATIENCE THE DIFFERENCE
Loh blows early leads in both sets to lose a frustrating quarter-final to Li
RAGING RUBLEV IMPLODES IN PARIS
World No. 6 is the highest men’s seed to exit Roland Garros after loss to Italian Arnaldi
ANIKI, A LATE SILVER BULLET FOR 70YO KHOO
From forlorn hope at netting elusive feature win, veteran trainer suddenly gets a shot
Ringgit overcomes slow start in 2024 as inflows rise
The Malaysian ringgit has raced ahead of all its Asian peers in the past three months and, if market watchers are right, the move is set to gain traction.
US economy grows less than estimated in Ql as consumer spending cools
The US economy grew less than initially estimated in the first quarter of 2024 as consumer spending cooled, the government reported on May 30.
Over half of S'pore CEOs have pushed sustainability down in their to-do list: Poll
Decarbonisation has taken a back seat among corporate leaders in Singapore, a quarterly survey by EY has found.
Govts, people must join hands to fight deepfakes: Panellists
They need to share and learn from one another; technology not the silver bullet