In his annual letter to shareholders, Bezos suggested other retailers match or beat Amazon’s November 2018 move to increase its minimum wage to US$15. The rule applies to Amazon subsidiaries like Whole Foods, and seasonal and temporary employees. (TechCrunch)

Talking point: The snark is good publicity for Bezos, but wages were just one of Amazon’s many complaints from workers. In January, my colleague Catherine reported that Amazon drivers working in its delivery partners’ Mississauga and Scarborough fulfillment centres were alleging anti-union tactics from the company. In the U.K., an investigative journalist claimed in 2016 that warehouse workers were urinating in bottles for fear of missing productivity targets and described the culture as being like “a prison.” And, despite Bezos’s challenge, not all Amazon-linked workers are happy with their pay. Pilots at the companies that fly for Amazon Air are protesting low pay today, nearly two months after a flight contracted by Amazon Air crashed in February.