The county's biggest private employer, Walmart, announced that it would be raising workers' wages to $9 by April. According to the NY Times, "That would mean a raise for about 40 percent of its work force"—500,000 employees—"to at least $1.75 above the federal minimum wage."

The Wall Street Journal, which points out this move will "take a bite out of the company’s profit this year," adds, "Wal-Mart, with its low wages and scheduling policies that critics say make it hard for part-time employees to predict their hours, has long been a flash point for [the income inequality] debate... Wal-Mart’s action will raise average full-time worker wages to $13 an hour, up from nearly $12 an hour, while average part-time workers will be paid $10 an hour."

The retail behemoth also plans to increase hourly wages to $10/hour by February 2016. While this is good news, critics think more can be done. Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, called the announcement "unprecedented," and credited "years of organizing by Walmart employees, who have united under the banner of OUR Walmart and engaged in strikes, protests, consumer education, and investor outreach to draw attention to the company’s deplorable working conditions."

The changes in company policy announced by Walmart are inadequate for the hundreds of thousands of employees who struggle to support themselves and their families. When compared to the $16 billion in profit that the company rakes in annually, Walmart’s promise of $10 an hour—which even for a full-time worker is not enough to keep a family of four out of poverty—is meager. Walmart has not committed to giving employees the full-time hours they want and need, nor made any commitment to respect employees who are fighting for better working conditions.

Walmart workers have helped make the company one of the largest and most profitable corporations on Earth, building untold wealth for the Walton family. For this, they are seeking a $15 an hour wage, an opportunity for full-time work, and dignity. Surely this is a small price to pay to help its associates truly ‘live better.’

The Waltons are ranked 6, 7, 8 and 9 on Forbes's 2014 list of the richest Americans (Michael Bloomberg is #10, so just imagine four people with MORE money than Bloomberg in ONE family).

The Times notes that "even [Walmart's] higher pay falls short of compensation offered by the likes of Costco, known to offer wages closer to $20 an hour." Gothamist interviewed some employees at the Resorts World Casino in Queens who described what it meant to suddenly make $20/hour or more, up from $12/hour. One told us, "Before the raise, a lot of times I fell behind on my rent payments. It was a dilemma: which was more important, food or bills? So I made the bills and I'd buy whatever food I could afford afterwards."

These Resorts World Casino workers got to their higher wage thanks to a deal negotiated by the hotel workers union. Last year, a leaked Walmart presentation offered insight into how the company instructs managers to dissuade employees from organizing ("In my opinion, unions just want to hurt Walmart and make it harder to run our business.").