One of my friends at Target told me anti-union efforts just went through the roof

[TwixVoy]

One of my friends who still works at Target told me the anti-union efforts have really gone up recently.

Last year when I was still working there they rolled out an anti-union DVD that ALL store employees had to watch. It was one of the things that made me want to leave the company. It LITERALLY had freaking CGI dollar bills dropping from the screen while saying unions were out to take your money... and they had some corporate scum bag come on screen (who had this look on his face of possibly being some kind of sociopath) and while not exactly saying this - STRONGLY implied even talking about unions would have a negative effect on your employment status.

So anyway he was telling me next month the company is rolling out new anti-union materials company wide because of the EFCA in congress. Basically they are going to require all levels of management be trained on how to spot and deal with potential union efforts. They are also going to classify this effort as "training" for non-management employees and have everyone of them at stores watch a new DVD. Apparently they have even prepared mulit-language versions of this so they can get 100% of the work force within the span of a month.

God I am glad I quit that job. People talk about wal-mart, but if you have ever worked retail you would know they are ALL pretty much the same bastards that pull the same garbage.

You know what I find the funniest and most ironic thing of all? When I was in management at Target corporate NEVER allocated us at stores enough time or resources to properly train anyone to do their job well. It was basically throw them in and let them sink or swim. If they failed, fire them and get a replacement. Screw it if they had time to properly train was the attitude.

Yet when they started really making the anti-union shit a focus they made DAMN sure everyone attended, and that stores had enough resources to make sure everyone spent a ton of time listening to the anti-union message.

So not only do we now have a country largely based on service jobs that don't pay near a living wage - we now have the fuckers doing everything possible to keep anyone in those jobs down.

[undeterred]

1. They are all the same.

Some people think its so easy to just start a union- they have no idea how quickly someone would be terminated for just talking about it. And they would never tell you thats the reason- but remember, they don't need a reason.

[NNN0LHI]

6. When my union (UAW) first began trying to organize the company goons would shoot you

So to say someone will not try and unionize because they are afraid of their bosses now only shows how bad those people actually need to be unionized.

Don

[TwixVoy]

7. People are afraid of losing what little they have

there were others (though not many) in management at Target with me who were too afraid to do what was right for fear of their job even though they wanted to. They were in massive debt as many americans are. Living paycheck to paycheck to pay for college loans, car loans, mortgage, credit cards. One missed check and they would be on the path to lose it all. In this position it makes many people afraid to do the right thing.

I was only able to stand up to the crap while I was there and finally decide to leave easily because I had no debt and a ton in savings. Otherwise I would have been stuck too. Debt is slavery, and part of the reason so many in this country are afraid to rock the boat.

[dmr]

17. My dad's UAW efforts in the 30s:

In 2003 I responded to a post by BiggJawn about my dad's experiences in the early days of the UAW. It's from a good thread about unions.

BiggJawn wrote this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x47441#48155

.... how Harvey Bennett used to have Reuther put in the hospital...

Bennett was Ford's "Chief Goon", head of the "Sociologoical department" that used to intrude on Ford workers when they were at home to make sure they were spending that fabulous dollar-a-day on "Wholesome" pursuits, also to make sure that the single women who worked for Ford were staying in proper rooming houses, and not keeping house alone...(horrors)

When the UAW tried to organize Ford, Bennett changed over to C-in-C of Ford's private army of thugs who would come OFF the company property and beat Union organizers and pickets sensless on the public street, then claim the Union men were "Tresspassing".Reuther was put in the hospital more than once from the Ford-sanctioned beatings he got. If any Ford worker was found to have joined the UAW, he was immediately fired and "escorted" off the property by Bennett's Goons. Some of them were never seen alive again.

We never hear about the blood that was shed or the men who died to get us things like an 8-hour day and paid sick leave. But we heard PLENTY about how Ford started the "Dollar a Day" wage. What bullshit! It wasn't because he "loved" his workers and wanted to treat them fair, he just wanted to keep the UAW out.

.... How many stories have we heard about companies not only banning smoking on company premises, but checking their employees for tobacco use OFF the clock and job site, too? Nicotine in your blood, you no workee here.

Of course, checking for nicotine is DoublePlusGood, because tobacco is bad. Let that same employer make you piss in a cup to check for THC or opiates and then it's not so right, is it?

How about company "Health Screens" to make sure you're not eating too much fat or drinking too much caffeine? Company "Health Department Representatives" spying on you to make sure you don't climb on the roof of your house to clean the gutters (safer to hire a "professional") or ride a bike bareheaded, or buy junk food at the grocery? All in the name of "Protecting their investment in you"

We're heading that way again...

And the Sheeple will swallow it, because The Corporation will tell you it's for cheaper insurance premiums....

I wrote about my dad here:

.... My dad fought alongside Walter Reuther
and was badly beaten, in the "battle of the overpass" by William Bennett's "service department", while the Dearborn (Michigan) police department stood by watching. It wasn't just the union organizers who were beaten. Women, children, clergy, journalists and photographers were roughed up, some badly. This was the late 1930's (I think 1937, but could be wrong).

Dad said that William Bennett was probably the second most powerful man at Ford. Dad had been followed home and elsewhere, by these goons on many occassions - this was even before he joined the UAW. The intimidation factor Ford and Bennett placed on my dad had the opposite effect. Dad began organizing himself, and nearly died at the "battle of the overpass". They beat him to unconsiousness and threw his body down some stairs. Walter Reuther paid for my dad's hospital bills.

My dad only had good words for Walter. He said Walter believed that the automobile companies held an obligation beyond their stockholders to provide safe working conditions and a decent wage for their employees and for society as well.

I didn't learn of my dad's activities until I was grown, and complaining about having to pay union dues. Dad told me (as someone already mentioned in this thread) that the only thing worse than unions are the conditions that brought them to us. When we grow up 'soft' we need our elders to remind us of the why's and whatfors. Our educational system won't teach our children our history, it's up to us. (Re-writing history or re-dating history is a daily occurance in today's White House).

Walter Reuther and his wife, Mary, were killed, I think in 1970, in a plane crash in Michigan. My dad never believed it was an accident....

I loved and respected my dad more than anyone else in the world, but in my youth, I didn't fully listen, nor did I ask the questions I wish I could ask today. It breaks my heart to know that Ford & his goons, after beating dad, just threw his half-dead body away as if he was nothing.

He was the most gentle and kindest man. You'd never think he was such a scrapper in his youth - but working conditions were intolerable, and there is so much a person can stand. Along with fighting for decent and fair working conditions and wages, in 1932 he was also was in DC with his older brothers who were a part of the Bonus Army when President Hoover ordered the men forcibly removed by tanks and cavalry. He saw a mother injured and her baby die that day. He said it changed him forever. You can read about the Bonus Army here: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bonusarmy.htm

If anything I can stress to the young people today: listen to your elders about their history and experiences, and ask questions.

We see how the opportunistic Republicans are all over President Obama, and how they 'feel' and sympathize with those protesting in Iran; yet it's these same people who have no empathy for any working class American. While they condemn the Iranian government for their brutality, that same brutality (or worse, see Bonus Army) has been sanctioned against any dissenter toward our very own corporate-government.

Thanks for listening. :)

[bbgrunt]

18. thanks for that. wonderful post!

[MajorChode]

29. Most people don't realize the debt of gratitude they owe unions

Prior to unions there was a working class and there was a ruling class and the disparity between the two were like night and day. The greatness of this country and the wealth of the middle class was built by unions.

I can remember back in the 70's when both of my parents (who both worked at the same factory) went out on strike for over 3 months. My dad worked two jobs to try and make ends meet and still he found time to carry a sign on the picket line.

Now days there are too many people who believe in this trickled on economic fantasy that the GOP promotes and the disparity between the classes returns.

[dmr]

37. No, they don't, and it's not fully their fault

Today's generation grew up with the corporate world, the corporate media and the corporate GOP demonizing unions and their workers.

Over-exaggerated claims of compensation, and over-generalizations of worker laziness; and over-exaggerated claims of poor union management.

After years and years of union busting, the busters have since pit non-union against union workers. Why should they have pay, compensation, etc, when I don't?

It's all geared to bring down the unionized instead of lifting up the non-member's working and living conditions.

I am hoping there will come a time when the meek will rise up like my dad, and your dad.

United we stand - isn't just a saying, is it?

[kenny blankenship]

2. Well that's what happens when you elect REPUBLICANS!

Oh wait...

[PearliePoo2]

3. TwixVoy....how are you doing?

I remember following your postings with great interest.
On everything from the lack of product in the distribution centers, not being able to order stuff to trying to fill the blank spots on the shelves.
Your post on finally reaching the last straw with their heartless attitude towards employees was riveting. You are to be commended.
Are you employed now? Has it been tough to stick with your decision to quit?

[TwixVoy]

5. Not yet employed

still looking, but I have a good amount in savings so I am OK.

I have no regrets about my decision. If I was there now in my same position I would now be asked to be a part of putting down union efforts which would be just another thing on the list of reasons for me to leave.

The only thing I took from that place was some good friends I made through acting ethically.

[PearliePoo2]

9. yeah! Looking at your face in the mirror in the morning says it all.

Good luck in your job pursuit.
You can hold your head high...look in the mirror and be proud of what you see.
:-)

[RandomThoughts]

4. People will work 30 min extra a week for a few dollars.

If they could only spend 30 min a week organizing and learning about the labor movement, the benefit to society and even them would be far more.

[LittleOne]

8. Target just went on my no shop list.

[PearliePoo2]

10. Same here! Rat bastards

I really like Fred Meyer and they are a Union shop!
I'll forever drive by Target from now on. Wouldn't have known any of this if not for TwixVoy's posts.

[malakai2]

12. I work there

It's also pretty much on my no-shop list now.

I consider my job to be a "between career jobs" sort of deal, so I didn't apply for management. However, my previous work experience, restaurant to retail to professional office settings, didn't really prepare me for the shit that company puts employees through. At least, at the store where I work. Most of the long-termers there make marginally more than they could elsewhere, and can't afford to leave. They're afraid to bring concerns to management, because that's a quick way to lose hours and fall out of favor with management in this particular store. I've not been so bound, and they've taken to avoiding me or scheduling our chat sessions (to cover our concerns with management) on days I'm not scheduled to work. What should be 20 minute sessions with pliant employees turn into 1-2 hour marathon sessions when I'm involved.

This EFCA thing I read today pretty much pushed the barrel over the falls. I'm gonna study up, and when we have our session with HR, if there's a Q&A, I intend to make that particular corporate drone as uncomfortable as I can.

[glinda]

22. Don't trade them for WalFart though. Target has flaws but is far better than WalFart.

[PearliePoo2]

11. Come on people....

rate this up and please recommend.
This info needs to be out there.

[pleah]

13. They are building a new store here on the gulf coast.

I wonder what they would do if I walked in the place with a proUNION t-shirt on? Would they force me to leave the store?

:shrug:

[glinda]

23. They have been having some Board takeover issues. Thankfully it didn't happen but

there has been incredible pressure to produce on them. I will support them as I live in MN and they employ thousands of people and actually give money back to the State in Charitable donations big time. Especially schools.

[lunatica]

14. Many lives have been lost by union organizers and members over the years

And the losses of life go on in countries like Mexico.

Right now it's a pivotal moment for unions. They will either get strong again or die out altogether or survive as mere shells of what they used to be. Unions are the middle class. No unions, no middle class.

[DemReadingDU]

15. I don't shop WalMart, rarely Target

So it will be easy not to shop at Target either. Actually, the closest stores to me are Krogers and K-mart. Is K-mart having these anti-union tactics too?

[mitchum]

16. I will be going into Target more often...and leaving "Union Now!" cards lying around

thanks for the heads up

[bbgrunt]

19. k and r. It also seems to me that target has become

significantly more expensive recently. I guess they have to pay for all those anti-union efforts somehow. Knowing this, I will definitely avoid the big red balls in the future!

[Touchdown]

20. Damn. I need a general merch store to go to now.

I didn't feel comfortable with Target, but they weren't Wal-Mart. After this news, I can't in good conscience go there any more.

Kmart is too far, and they're anti union too.

ACE Hardware for laundry soap maybe? Bed Bath Beyond for other things? Walgreens for toothpaste and razors? Massive gas using trip.:cry:

[backscatter712]

21. Are there any discount stores that aren't anti-union shitholes?

Around here, there's Target, and there's Walmart.

Walmart's already on my boycott list - I haven't set foot in a Walmart in years, and Target's about to join the boycott list.

Any suggestions for equivalent stores that don't treat their employees like shit?

[sendero]

24. Unions...

... are going nowhere in an environment of 14% unemployment. Might as well wish for money to drop from the sky.

The ship some of you seem to want to catch sailed years, maybe decades ago. We are heading straight for 3rd world status, and unions are not only not the solution, they are simply company killers.

Anyone understanding basic economics can understand this simple fact - companies can survive unionized only if all other companies in the same industry are also. It's not going to happen.

[TwixVoy]

25. Company killers

then we as a country are fucked. The UAW has been busted. The middle class is on the way out the door.

If the businesses in this nation can no longer afford to pay a living wage then it is over.

[TheWatcher]

27. "If the businesses in this nation can no longer afford to pay a living wage then it is over."

Truth be told I think it is getting to the point in this nation that they DO NOT WANT to pay a living wage, and that's where we are headed.

Slavery and Serfdom by design.

And whether by fear or indifference, the country will likely drool and embrace it.

As always, Thank You for your Posts Twixvoy.

You are one of the more illuminating Posters on this Board.

Good Luck To You.

:hug:

[Touchdown]

26. If a union can kill a company, then it wasn't worth saving.

No company should call itself successful if it exploits employees, forcing them to work 60 hours for a 40 hour paycheck (that 20 hours of slavery, extorted on you to "keep your job"), lack of retirement (401K is a sham and always has been a means of theft for the Wall St. types). If they can't pay living wages, provide adequate workplace safety, clean up their environmental damage, and not threaten their workers into compliance with their master-servant spousal abuse re-termed "effective management" and still not pull a profit to keep going, then that company does not deserve to exist. Whoever runs them have no intellectual, managerial or competitive imagination, or just plain doesn't care about people. Either way, they are not qualified to run a business, and should have dominion over no other human.

[sendero]

30. Bullshit...

.... it is a simple fact that a company with higher cost structures, such as union wages and benefits, cannot compete with a company without them. Wishing will not make the opposite true.

Assuming that the only way a company can "care about people" is to unionize is also demonstrably bullshit.

I'm not saying the UAW sunk GM, but they put at least a couple of holes in the boat. Now, if the American auto industry has even a small chance of survival, the UAW is going to have to bring its members' compensation in line with the non union shops.

I would not be against unions, if only every company in a given industry segment was unionized. Hell, if my industry were unionized, we could shut the country down on a moments notice. Doesn't mean it would be a good idea.

[Nickster]

33. The benevolent industries can drive down wages because there is no union to stop them, then they

can't compete because the other non-union industries don't have to pay living wages either, and so on and so on, wages spiral downwards. Having unions as a way to hold back the wage cuts keeps wages higher for everyone union or not. People with jobs and earning a decent wage put money back into the economy and creates more jobs, etc.

Sitting back and allowing companies free reign only leads to the economic situation we have, the government sits back and throws their hands up in the air and the remaining unions have forgotten their own roots. We are going to have to wait until it gets so much worse before people realize why we had unions in the first place. Not every industry needs to be unionized, but every industry needs to be checked by the possibility of union organization.

[sendero]

34. I did not say...

.. that I like the way things are now. I just don't think unions are remotely the answer.

Unions pulled American labor out of the dark days and for that they deserve credit. It's hard to think of any substantially good change they have made to labor in the last 40 years.

[Nickster]

36. The unions have obviously forgotten where they came from, but the answer is not to curl up and

accept every wage cut in the name of making a company "competitive" either. We can see the effects of wage cuts very clearly, jobs leave and smaller companies fold up by the truckload, while the larger companies sit on top of their profits and continue to demand more concessions from the working class. What else is going to force companies to treat their workers like assets and fulfill their requirements to be a part of society as a good corporate citizen?

[Touchdown]

39. You are missing the point.

If a higher wage company is competing with a parasitical, low wage sweat shop, then the sweat shop should be SHUT THE FUCK DOWN for human rights violations, and it's management structure should be tossed in jail, and their assets frozen until their victims can be compensated fairly by their CEO's billion dollar theft of their labor! I am in favor of living wage laws. Laws that will severely punish low wage payers as human rights violators. It only sounds extreme to a corporate apologist who's accepted the feudal standards the rich have made for us, and that we should be appreciative and genuflective of that. Do you side with the feudalists?

To assume that "the way it is" is the optimal way it's supposed to be is demonstrably bullshit!

For a poster who likes to toss around that "fact" word, then give me at least 2 FACTUAL examples of how the UAW put a couple of holes in GM's ship. Not conjecture, not innuendo, not pro-corporate talking points, FACTS!

[armyowalgreens]

28. I wish I knew what it was like to be in a union. AZ is a right to work state...

Which apparently means unions get the shaft.

[a kennedy]

31. D*mn, thanks for reminding me why I DON'T SHOP AT TARGET!!

:grr: I just don't understand why "union" is such a bad word.......it all started with Reagan. :mad:

[Neecy]

32. Well, that's the last time I shop at Target

Thanks for the info.

[crikkett]

35. I get my knickers from Target. Sigh. Can anyone recommend a good source for

your standard white cotton undies? (I don't get lingerie from Target).

[lefthandedlefty]

38. That is why I am self employed

I don`t make a lot of money,but I do live comfortable.I don`t have a lot of debt or drive a new car I work my own hours the best part though I don`t have to listen to anyones bull