Gorham Amazon jobs won’t pay well enough | Letter
Being from Portland, I don’t have a direct stake in Amazon’s planned distribution center in Gorham. However, I feel it’s important to comment on the full-time positions that, according to Amazon, will have an “hourly wage nearly triple the federal minimum” ($7.25 per hour).”
The implication of Amazon’s statement is that these are well-paid jobs. Assuming $21 per hour and 40 hours a week, that’s a yearly salary under $44,000. An internet search says that a yearly salary over $122,000 is needed to buy a median-priced home in Gorham, meaning a couple both working full time at the proposed Amazon facility will not be in a position to afford that home.
Furthermore, according to your July 23 article on the hourly wage needed to afford an average two-bedroom apartment in Maine ($32.32), a full-time worker at the Amazon facility will be priced out of this market as well. Are these really the full-time jobs we want to bring to Maine? They don’t seem to address the affordability issues many members of our community are experiencing.
Tom Wenzel
Portland
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Tagged: featured letter, letter to the editor
