Amazon closing AmazonSmile

[Quoth]

Stumped, Belarus is doing worse than UK, so it's not too bad?

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by janrey

Yes, and I supported a Dogs for Vets with PSTD. They also do dogs for kids that have special needs. A great training group. They didn't get much a year but every little bit for them helps and I order a lot from Amazon.

That sounds like a great service. I liked we could support a variety of charities with Amazon Smile.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by John F

And if it is a good night, or a large party that tips very generously, ...

It's like many jobs, there are good days and bad days. I have a relative who is the head cook/chef at a relatively nice restaurant, and he says the waitstaff makes more money then the head cook/chef.

They generally do. Servers make more than most office workers and many times professionals with higher degrees depending how their hourly wage evens out with the tips. It's usually a very lucrative work field. The bad thing is the benefits are generally non-existent depending on the restaurant.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by stumped

How many people tip their Amazon warehouse staff?

To be clear: I don't support tipping. I would rather the staff be paid better wages in the first place, as is done in many other places.

[Paperbackstash]

Was browsing the Libraries subreddit today and a few mentioned how it would affect them. Apparently some choose their local library for a charity, and several said it made up their yearly craft budget and other resources as a big help for small libraries. I have a feeling AmazonSmile reached decently far in so many pots and pockets that it's going to hurt a lot of these places. I know some struggling churches and other non-profits used it.

[Kindleing]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

I liked we could support a variety of charities with Amazon Smile.

My guess is that is the main reason they are discontinuing the program. The administrative cost of running a program with a bazillian beneficiaries is probably quite high compared to writing a half-dozen checks to easily-vetted large charitable organizations.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

To be clear: I don't support tipping. I would rather the staff be paid better wages in the first place, as is done in many other places.

Waitresses in UK are dependent on tips to earn enough to live.

My daughter has worked as waitress for more than one large rich corporate chain and they all pay their floor staff ( and cooks) as little as possible, to maximise shareholder profits. all Legal. all reprehensible.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by stumped

Waitresses in UK are dependent on tips to earn enough to live.

My daughter has worked as waitress for more than one large rich corporate chain and they all pay their floor staff ( and cooks) as little as possible, to maximise shareholder profits. all Legal. all reprehensible.

That feels like such a scam. I'm a good tipper, but I'd much rather the wait staff was just properly compensated in the first place.

[frahse]

A shame. My wife and I supported our church.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by ApK

States have minimum wages that are often higher than federal minimum. This year NJ went to just over $14/hr.

And, of course, many jobs start higher than minimum, and minimum wage is a starting wage. Even in a "minimum wage job" pay typically increases if you stay a while and provide some value. You're not supposed to be planning a long term career and raising a family on minimum wage.

Individual cities and counties can have a minimum wage higher than either the federal or state minimum wage.
Which is why Seatac WA has a minimum wage of US$19.06/hour, as compared to a King County minimum wage of US$18.69 and a Washington state minimum wage of US$15.75, and a federal minimum wage of US$7.25.
For all practical purposes, US$20.00 is the minimum wage for King County, and the surrounding counties. Advertise a pay scale of less than that, and you will have few, if any applicants.

When the minimum wage was first proposed, the theory was that somebody earning a minimum wage would be able to have a wife and raise two children, without needing assistance, financial or other, from third parties. The target income was solid lower-middle class.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Just... add it to the price and pay the employees properly?

Back in the mid-1980s, a San Francisco eating establishment was offering wait staff US$40.00 per hour, with automatic termination if the wait person solicited tips, or accepted tips. More than once they fired a waitperson in front of the customer that tipped them. The formal policy was to make tip-related firings very public, and very obvious to the entire dining room as to why the individual was being fired.

It went out of business due to an inability to hire wait-staff.
Non-applicants claimed that they could average more per shift, working for tips only at other eating establishments. Several studies demonstrated that wait-staff at that eating establishment earned more per year, than at similar eating establishments that where wait-staff relied on tips for their income.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Fiat_Lux

Several studies demonstrated that wait-staff at that eating establishment earned more per year, than at similar eating establishments that where wait-staff relied on tips for their income.

Were those studies based on income as reported to the IRS?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Fiat_Lux

When the minimum wage was first proposed, the theory was that somebody earning a minimum wage would be able to have a wife and raise two children, without needing assistance, financial or other, from third parties. The target income was solid lower-middle class.

In the United States, the earliest minimum wage laws were state laws focused on women and children, to counter sweatshop abuse. Wikipedia has cites for the sources.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Were those studies based on income as reported to the IRS?

Income as reported to management of the eating establishment.
I _think_ that there were spot checks, similar to IRS compliance checks.

Due to inflation:
* US$40/hour in 1990 would be the equivalent of US$90/hour today.
* US$40/hour in 1980 would be the equivalent of US$144/hour today.

How many waitpeople do you know, that can consistently pull in more than US$500 per 8 hour shift in tips?

IHOP is claiming that its waitstaff earn, between wages and tips, US$800 per week.

In 2021, the IRS claimed that the average tipped employee earned US$25,000 per year.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by ApK

In the United States, the earliest minimum wage laws were state laws focused on women and children, to counter sweatshop abuse. Wikipedia has cites for the sources.

These were the same states that allowed employees to work for tips only, as a way to perpetuate slavery.