Video Claims Amazon Employees Were Given Grilled Cheese Sandwiches After Asking For A Raise
People accused Amazon of doing the least amount of work to make their employees happy instead of giving them a pay raise as they asked for.
TikTok After a group of Amazon employees decided to inquire about being paid more, the response from the company was not what they expected.
In a TikTok video, a group of Amazon workers was filmed showing up at the warehouse, but instead of meeting with their management about their inquiry for a pay raise to match the labor they do for work, they were given food as compensation.
Amazon employees were given grilled cheese sandwiches instead of getting a pay raise.
In the 20-second clip, an employee who worked for Amazon decided to record the solution management allegedly came up with to give him and his coworkers after they asked about being paid more.
"Amazon, we want a raise," the employee wrote in overlay text. "Amazon: we can do one better." In the video, an array of Amazon workers can be seen lining up outside as other employees handed out grilled cheese sandwiches on paper plates.
If that wasn't bad enough, many viewers pointed out that the sandwiches don't even look appetizing at all, with many TikTok users accusing Amazon of doing the least to make their employees happy and willing to stay with the company.
"Employee: Can I have a livable wage so I can support my family and pay my bills? Employer: hands over grilled cheese," one TikTok user wrote, while another user added, "I have never seen such a thing."
"Yeah that grilled cheese is just what these workers need to, you know, pay their mortgages with," a third user chimed in.
Amazon workers previously staged a protest against the company after demanding higher wages.
In March 2022, Vice reported that Amazon workers at three different warehouses staged protests to demand higher pay and longer breaks. The workers told Vice that they were seeking a $3 hourly increase to their wages, which range from $15.75 to $17.25, to keep up with rising costs of living.
In total, over 60 workers walked out across all three warehouses, with two located in New York City and one in Maryland.
“I make $16.90 after a year and a half of working here,” Linda, an Amazon warehouse worker told Vice, adding that workers were demanding a raise for a number of reasons. "First of all, we have a Nordstrom warehouse across the street that starts at $19 an hour."
“Many of us work multiple jobs. People are hurting themselves on this job. Their bodies are breaking down. I have a co-worker who hands out Aleve every day. We got nothing during peak, but they doubled our volume in our warehouse. Maybe we could get a thank you.”
It took seven months before Amazon agreed to raise wages for both warehouse employees and delivery drivers. According to CNBC, Amazon’s average starting pay for front-line employees in the U.S. was said to bump up to more than $19 per hour from $18 per hour.
Along with the pay increase, Amazon said it’s also expanding a payday advance program for its employees that allows them to access up to 70% of their eligible earned pay whenever they choose and without fees.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics.