ST. PETERS — Freight truck drivers laid on their horns in solidarity as they passed a rally of workers outside the Amazon fulfillment center Wednesday morning.
Employees, janitors, drivers and other associates from Amazon warehouses around the region gathered to demand the tech company boost its wage floor to $25 an hour. Many workers currently make between $17 and $19 an hour.
Brian Phillips, a warehouse worker in Sauget, Illinois, said he picks up about 10 hours of overtime and still struggles to pay rent, utilities, car payments and care for his four kids.
“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,†he said. “We’re not paycheck to paycheck. We’re always a paycheck behind that paycheck.â€
The job also takes a toll on the body and is at times dangerous, Phillips said. He recalled a friend, who was one of six who died in December 2021 when a tornado hit the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois.
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“I thought about [Amazon founder] Jeff Bezos posting on X about his rocket without mention of the people who died making his billions,†said Phillips. “To people like him and to the corporations they build, we are expendable.â€
On Wednesday, Amazon employees also delivered a petition with 800 worker signatures to management at the St. Peters facility. The petition outlined demands such as removing the 36-month cap on step wage increases, making cross-training volunteer-based only, banning computer-generated write-ups, add productivity performance bonuses and ending the use of working rate as a criteria for discipline.
Some workers shared their experiences and said management ignores employee complaints and prioritizes profit over its workforce.
Joshua McGee, who’s been working at the warehouse in Sauget, Illinois for about six months, said Amazon doesn’t respect its workers. He said his mother, also an Amazon worker in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area, wasn’t compensated while on medical leave.
“They don’t hear you out when you’re talking to them and trying to voice your opinions about something you don’t like or if you’re trying to get into a new position,†McGee said. “They just fan you off and just put you back in your place.â€
Ash Judd moves packages and pallets at the St. Peters warehouse. He makes about $19 an hour after three years with Amazon. He stays with the company because he needs the money for rent, and though he’s applied to other jobs, Judd said not many places are hiring.
“Even if it’s not great you still have to pay for a lot of stuff,†Judd said. “I know a lot of my coworkers are in that same boat, working here because they need the money to live.â€
Last year, workers at the St. Peters Amazon facility filed a federal complaint over working conditions at the warehouse. They alleged that employees are rushed to pack and carry containers, repetitive motions cause frequent injuries on the job and that worker complaints are often downplayed by the company.
Then, the fulfillment site received five citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to report work-related injuries to the agency as required, within seven calendar days.
Also on Wednesday, Amazon that it would increase the average base pay wage for fulfillment and employees in the US to about $1.50 and hour which brings the average to more than $22 an hour.
As a result, the starting wage for workers at the St. Peters fulfillment center increased to $19 per hour, Eileen Hards, Amazon spokesperson, said in an email to the Post-Dispatch.
This plus benefits such as healthcare, a 401(k) and 20 weeks of paid parental leave “underscores our commitment to providing our teams with competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and an engaging, safe work experience,†Hards said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated Tuesday at 3:10 p.m. to include comments from Amazon.