As Amazon Expands MA Footprint, More Workers Turn To Food Stamps

Third of a three-part series. This story was reported by Jimmy Bentley, Jenna Fisher, Neal McNamara and Alex Newman.

MASSACHUSETTS — Amazon is rapidly expanding its presence in Massachusetts, signifying a boom for the retail giant, but not all of its workers are reaping the benefits of growth.

The state Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) provided Patch with five years worth of data naming the companies that employ the most workers receiving benefits under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Amazon does not appear on the list in 2015-16, which included 62 companies, but steadily moved up over five years, employing the third-largest number of workers receiving SNAP benefits in 2019-20.

This trend coincides with Amazon's aggressive expansion in Massachusetts.

The company employs more than 20,000 people in the state across 21 Amazon locations and 32 Whole Foods stores. It's currently building a 3.8 million-square-foot regional sorting center in North Andover and signed leases last year for four smaller distribution centers in Norwood, Salem, Milford and Hingham, The Boston Globe reported in October.

At least six more of those centers – where drivers pick up packages for delivery – are planned. Amazon's reach seems inescapable; as soon as Showcase Cinemas announced it would close its iconic Revere theater last fall, word spread the retailer was eyeing the property for a distribution facility.

Meanwhile, 1,089 Amazon employees received food stamps last year, landing the company behind Walmart, which habitually tops the list, and Dollar General.

Alexa, Show Me SNAP Benefits

About 902,000 people — one in eight state residents — were receiving some type of SNAP benefit as of January, according to the DTA. Out of the 535,000 households receiving SNAP benefits, more than 68 percent have a total income of less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which can range from about $13,000 for an individual to up to $26,500 for a family of four.

The SNAP program carries some work requirements, but most recipients do not necessarily need to hold a job. During the pandemic, the federal government also suspended some work rules and SNAP time limits.

Amazon sets its minimum wage at $15 per hour, which is higher than the Massachusetts minimum wage and more than double the federal minimum wage, and offers a benefits package that includes health, vision and dental insurance; 401K with 50 percent company match; and up to 20 weeks of paid parental leave.

The company offers the Career Choice program, which prepays 95 percent of tuition for employees to take courses in high-demand fields.

But its business also leans on seasonal or gig workers, who sometimes wear multiple hats as warehouse employees, Amazon Flex or Amazon Fresh drivers. Temporary employees would likely qualify for federal benefits, depending on how many jobs they worked during the year.

Amazon employs thousands of such people in Massachusetts. The $15 starting wage and benefits are available to these workers, but competitive pay does not always tell the full story.

Elaine Waxman, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who studies food benefits, said employees also need secure schedules to make sure hourly pay adds up to a living wage.

"Many jobs in service sectors like food also have unstable hours or don't provide enough weekly hours for people to be able to meet their needs without assistance," Waxman said. "So we need strategies to do better on both sides of the equation — like raising the minimum wage and incentivizing stable scheduling practices."

Here's how many Amazon workers have received SNAP since 2015. The first number indicates Amazon's placement on the list of employers.

2015-2016

Not listed

2016-17

15. Amazon: 372

16. City of Boston: 369

17. Cumberland Farms: 366

18. McDonald's: 364

19. Sodexo: 361

2017-18

14. Amazon: 398

15. Walgreens: 385

16. Compass Group USA: 378

17. Sodexo: 372

18. Self: 361

2018-19

11. Amazon: 680

12. TrueBlue Inc: 650

13. Target: 640

14. Babysitting: 514

15. Amedisys Holding LLC: 447

2019-20

1. Walmart: 1,465

2. Dollar General: 1,173

3. Amazon: 1,089

4. Uber: 808

5. Target: 805

Katelyn Richardson, an Amazon spokesperson, maintained those numbers may be skewed, as the data does not differentiate between full- and part-time workers.

"The methodology behind this list is unclear, but it appears to include people who may have only worked for Amazon in part-time or temporary roles," Richardson wrote in an email to Patch.

Unions' Call to Action

Some labor organizers worry Amazon's growth will leave workers in the dust. Local unions and elected officials protested March 1 at the North Andover site, calling for better working conditions in construction and the future operation of the facility.

Chris Brennan, president of the Merrimack Valley Building Trades Council, said the unions are calling for "careers, not jobs."

"We're fighting for working people," Brennan said. "We're trying to gain equity out of this project, both in its construction and the long-term workforce."

That could mean a "comprehensive employer agreement" with the general contractor that sets standards for subcontractors. Brennan said he wants to see union representation encouraged, apprenticeships available to local young people, strong safety protocols and more.

Amazon said it already offers what the protesters called for.

"We're proud to already offer what unions are requesting: industry-leading pay, comprehensive benefits and opportunities for career growth, all while working in a safe, modern, and inclusive work environment," Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti said. "At Amazon, these benefits and opportunities come with the job, as does the ability to communicate directly with the leadership of the company."

Teamsters Local 25, whose members attended the March 1 rally in North Andover, has been pushing communities to hold Amazon to higher working standards for its employees. The union represents delivery drivers — its largest employer is UPS — and helped bring forth resolutions in Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea and Malden demanding improved safety and treatment of drivers.

A motion passed by the Malden City Council Feb. 23 requires Amazon to meet or exceed community standards for wages, benefits and safe working conditions before any potential expansion into the city.

The retailer has to show that delivery drivers will be direct employees and not independent contractors, and that its operations meet or exceed the current standards established by existing delivery networks.

"We are proactively telling Amazon workers we stand with them as they fight for pay, benefits and working conditions that fit our community standards," Malden City Councilor Jadeane Sica said when the resolution passed. "We've all benefited from the dedication of these workers who continued putting themselves on the line during this pandemic while delivering more than 2.5 billion packages. Amazon turned a profit of more than $385 billion in 2020. This is a company that can afford to pay their workers wages and benefits that fit our community standards."

Sean O'Brien, president of Local 25, called Amazon a "greedy corporation" that underpays its workers while receiving corporate welfare from the federal government.

"It is simply reprehensible that Amazon won't pay workers a living wage but has no problem picking taxpayers' pockets by forcing them to subsidize one of the richest corporations in the world," O'Brien wrote in an emailed statement to Patch. "Amazon is shameless and does not even come close to meeting our community standard for safety and treatment of workers. We value and respect workers around here."

O'Brien said delivery drivers have been invaluable during the pandemic, and they "deserve respect and a safe work environment."

"It's shameful that Amazon workers have to seek government assistance to support their families while the corporation is celebrating astronomical profits after each quarterly earnings report," O'Brien said.

What Can Be Done?

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester), a longtime advocate on issues related to hunger and nutrition, is behind three initiatives he says will lift workers out of poverty and end the "corporate subsidies" that large companies are provided under how SNAP operates.

His first proposal – raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour – is already covered by Amazon. But he also seeks to close tax loopholes for large corporations, which sometimes pay little to no taxes toward the SNAP program while benefitting from it as a payroll subsidy.

Amazon famously paid $0 in federal taxes on $11 billion in profits in 2018, according to reports. The company later said it does pay taxes but said the U.S. tax code helps it save money to boost the larger economy.

"Like most governments that try to encourage economic investment by companies, the U.S. Congress has written a tax code that incentivizes the type of job creation, capital investment, development of technology, and employee ownership that Amazon does because these are critical drivers of a prosperous economy," according to a 2019 news release from the company.

The third initiative aimed at improving workers' quality of life is making it easier for them to join a union. McGovern said the House recently passed a bill called the PRO Act, which would allow unions to override laws in right-to-work states to collect union dues, make it illegal for businesses to interfere with union elections and other activities, and establish fines for companies that violate workers' rights.

This is significant when it comes to Amazon, where some employees claim supervisors discourage union support through threats and bullying.

A New York Times story published Tuesday detailed a failed effort to unionize in Chester, Virginia, where technicians were reportedly told those who voted for a union would be "looking for a job tomorrow." Amazon said it could not substantiate the claim in a labor board filing.

The company now faces a monumental union vote in Bessemer, Alabama, where some 5,800 warehouse workers have until March 29 to become members of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. If successful, the union effort could have a ripple effect at Amazon's warehouses across the country.

"Walmart makes a lot of money in profits," McGovern said. "Amazon does too. You mean to tell me they can't pay their workers enough of a wage to not have to rely on government assistance to make ends meet and put food on the table?"

Previously: For Thousands In MA, A Job Still Means Relying On Food Stamps

An 'Indecent' Problem: MA Rep. Proposes Fixes For SNAP Workers