More than 800 Amazon employees who work at facilities in St. Peters and Sauget signed a petition demanding a pay increase to a minimum of $25 an hour and improved working conditions.
On Wednesday, 75 of them rallied outside of the company's St. Peters warehouse before delivering the petition to management.
About an hour later, Amazon released information about a pay raise nationally that would increase the base wage to more than $22 an hour.
“This is part of an annual process where we review our wages and benefits to ensure they stay competitive — and in many cases industry-leading — and I’m proud to say that this year is our biggest ever investment in our team,” Amazon Vice President Udit Madan wrote in an online announcement.
Local Amazon employees said that the $1.50-an-hour raise is a product of organized worker effort, but that it is not enough.
“Amazon will put their own spin on this raise, but we know nothing moves without the workers,” said Ash Judd, an employee at the St. Peters warehouse and organizing committee member. “We'll keep fighting until we reach $25."
Wages are not the only objection workers have to Amazon’s business practices.
They are asking Amazon to give performance-based bonuses, make cross-training and workshare programs optional instead of mandatory, end the practice of computer-generated write-ups of performance and stop using falling short of production goals, known as “making rate,” as a basis for disciplinary action.
“If you're not sweating, you're not making rate,” said Brian Phillips, an employee at the Sauget warehouse. “Amazon is awful on my body. We all hate it. My friends cry every day trying to make rate. You don't come to Amazon to make rate. You come to make a decent paycheck and benefits.”
Phillips said Amazon’s educational benefits are allowing him to study to become a software engineer. But he said the demands to get those benefits are unreasonable.
“I can’t keep the benefits without working nearly 60 hours a week. It’s kind of like being an indentured servant. We’ll give you this, but you have to pay this much and work this hard for it,” Phillips said.
The organized Amazon employees also are calling on the company to better police the actions of its contractors that bring employees into its facilities.
Yery Castillo was a janitor at Amazon facilities working for KBS, one of the company's contractors. She said Amazon ignored wage theft and racism that happened in its facilities.
“We worked double our normal hours. But in the end, KBS refused to pay us. It was outrageous, but I couldn't quit because I needed my job,” Castillo said.
Amazon did not respond to a request comment on the employee's petition. But in a statement, company officials said the employees would benefit from the raises announced nationwide, along with other benefits, and that "underscores our commitment to providing our teams with competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and an engaging, safe work experience.”
