Amazon understands the ripple effect, and that its decisions make changes for more than just their business partners and customers. This is widely evident in their recently released stories they are calling the “Rising Tide”. These stories highlight the progress that other businesses have experienced because of Amazon’s nation-wide increase in starting wage to $15/hr.
Key Takeaways
- Rising Tide stories include life improvement for employees as well as small businesses that serve those employees
- Other large corporations are following Amazon’s example
- The benefits for the employees and businesses they frequent will continue to the larger economy, likely returning to Amazon and its business partners as well
Rising Tide Stories
Amazon’s increase to a $15/hr minimum wage first did the obvious, benefiting Amazon employees so they could live more stable and happy lives, like Remington in DuPont, Washington, Luv-Luv in Shakopee, Minnesota, and Kimberly in Florida. Beyond those results for individuals, communities that are employed by Amazon are feeling the effects as well, like Sylvia’s Café, in Opalocka, Florida. Small businesses like these that have Amazon employees as customers have seen more stability and even growth in their organization even through the pandemic.
Other Corporations Follow Suit
Amazon may have been one of the most vocal large advocates of the wage increase, but they aren’t the only ones that have decided to help out their employees. Major employers, such as Target, Costco, Under Armour, and more have raised the hourly rate for their employees in the past year. Like Amazon, this will help not only the employees and their families, but their local businesses as well.
More and More Ripples
The effects of such a change won’t stop just at local businesses around Amazon employees. The success of those businesses will allow them to raise the wages of their own employees, furthering the benefits that Amazon initiated. That ripple is then likely to bounce right back to Amazon and its business partners. The people that benefit from the wage increase outside of Amazon employees are more likely than not Amazon customers as well. With their increased spending power, it will help Amazon businesses to grow along with them.
Amazon’s increase starting wage on such a large scale was more like a boulder being dropped in a pond rather than the pebbles that smaller organizations have tried to contribute over the years. Even the U.S. government has kept the federal minimum wage only at $7.25/hr since 2009. Amazon hopes that stories like these show even more businesses and organizations the long-term benefit of ensuring employees and citizens are well cared for.