I've long thought that the low pay and shitty scheduling practices of places like Walmart didn't really make any economic sense, but instead just sprang from a contempt for workers by a layer of middle managers who didn't have much control over anything but worker hours and pay. They don't control the global supply chain, they don't control the marketing, and they probably don't even have much control over local inventory. So reducing labor costs is the only way to prove their worth.
You can always blame poor sales on factors beyond your control, even if one reason for poor sales is shitty labor management, while gleefully pointing to your cost cutting genius. So they kick the poors.
Ultimately you get what you pay for. I don't mean that as a knock on minimum wage workers, I just mean a little loyalty goes a long way in these industries. Getting treated like crap for minimum doesn't buy much of that loyalty.
Anyway, at least the pay is going up...
