After working for two years at a breakneck pace to support rapid — perhaps too rapid — expansion, Amazon employees' dissatisfaction over pay reached crisis levels, prompting the company to ...

Beginning this month, Amazon's average base pay for front-line employees in the U.S. will be bumped to an average of more than $22 an hour, up from roughly $20.50 an hour, the company said.

"Talk is cheap," one midlevel employee in Amazon's retail organization said. "I will believe it when I see the company walk the talk." Pay has long been a top concern for Amazon employees.