Walmart has generally played their part in the overall stagnation of wages in the US and the destruction of small businesses, before other big box stores & Amazon got seriously into the game. I don't believe for a second they would have done anything to raise wages without the specter of a $15 federal minimum wage. Even the publicity around their blatant expectation that taxpayers will subsidize their shitty wages for their employees to survive didn't manage that. Other retailers rode their coattails, to be sure, but Walmart embodies the "I got mine, now fuck you" mentality to do anything and everything in their power to avoid paying anyone except their C-suite execs, family members & shareholders a significant portion of their profits.
Target, for all its faults, was paying above minimum wage when I worked for them almost 20 years ago and is active in the community and encourages their employees (including time off for volunteering, etc.) to be involved, as well. Employees are disposable commodities in all corporations in the US these days in the ongoing race to bottom out anyone not in the 1%, but I feel like Target makes some sort of effort to make things more comfortable for employees & customers vs. saving money, no matter how much it costs you in the end.
