American Federation of Teachers Union Urges Boycott of Target Stores Over ‘Inaction’ on ICE
“The ‘Shop Smart, Support Working Families’ campaign was created in response to Target’s refusal to condemn the unlawful Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity that continues to roil communities around the country.”
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is now urging parents not to buy back-to-school supplies at Target because, in the union’s view, Target hasn’t done enough to push back against ICE.
What has any of this got to do with teaching students and, perhaps more importantly, why are we allowing teacher unions to continue to operate?
FOX News reports:
American Federation of Teachers launches boycott against Target, claims retailer ‘remained silent’ on ICE
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten promoted a nationwide back-to-school boycott of retail giant Target over the weekend because the company had not condemned ICE operations in Minnesota — the location of its headquarters — prompting criticism from education advocates and a call for federal scrutiny.
“We gave Target ample time to stand with the communities in which they operate and help their neighbors, but its silence about federal immigration abuses has been deafening,” Weingarten said in a statement.
“The issue could not be more pressing: Seven months since the murders of Alex Pretti and Renée Good, masked ICE agents are still in our streets, our schools and our communities, terrorizing families in the name of Donald Trump’s illegal and immoral assault on immigrants striving for their American Dream,” she continued. “That’s why we’re urging our members to avoid Target and patronize more ethical shopping alternatives this back-to-school season.”
Weingarten also shared a video on Instagram, where she directed families to the AFT’s “Shop Smart, Not Target” website, which maps local back-to-school shopping alternatives. The organization launched the campaign Wednesday after sending Target CEO Michael Fiddelke letters in February and March.
Here’s more from the AFT press release:
AFT Launches ‘Shop Smart, Not Target’ Campaign for Back-to-School
As teachers and families head back to school, the AFT has launched a nationwide campaign to urge them to shop at retailers other than Target for their school supplies. The “Shop Smart, Support Working Families” campaign was created in response to Target’s refusal to condemn the unlawful Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity that continues to roil communities around the country. A new website, ShopSmart.AFT.org, along with an associated digital and print ad initiative, helps educators and families shop for school supplies at local stores and outlets that respect labor rights, instead of at Target.
The AFT’s 1.875 million members spend an average of $895 of their own money on school supplies each year and hold billions in Target stock via their pension accounts. In March, the union passed a resolution demanding the Minneapolis-based business speak up against the ICE atrocities in their own backyard and called for a comprehensive back-to-school campaign if it failed to take meaningful action.
AFT President Randi Weingarten wrote to Target CEO Michael Fiddelke in January and again in March outlining the union’s concerns but did not receive a constructive response. In June, the 15 million-member national AFL-CIO, affiliated with the AFT, passed its own resolution at its constitutional convention in Minneapolis, backing the plan and championing the AFT’s push.
To be clear, this has absolutely nothing to do with education. It’s not even related to the pay or working conditions of teachers.
It is 100% Democrat political activism. The AFT and other teacher unions should be dissolved.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Protect the children. It is past time to get rid of Randi Weingarten and the teachers unions. All they do is spew hate and indoctrinate students against our nation. The enemy is not at the gate, they are way inside now. The commies have taken over our education system and it is past time to throw them out.
Someone ask PigWoman Weingarten about our failing public schools, and her union’s role in it all.
It might be better if someone asked Randy Baby why she traveled to Ukraine while USAID was sending a large amount of funds there. Was she, like Hunter, receiving money as well?
This woman is as evil as Hillary Clinton and that Gov. of Ma.
I’d point out significant similarities between Randi & Maura but I would be criticized for my hateful rhetoric.
Maybe so but whatever you would say would be true.
“We gave Target ample time to stand with the communities in which they operate and help their neighbors, but its silence about federal immigration abuses has been deafening,”
Considering that illegal aliens have an enormous deleterious effect on local economies (elevated rent, depressed wages, increased crime, just to name a few) I would suggest that Target’s stance is pro-community.
But simple economic theory is not the strong suit of socialists.
Randi the troll should go back to living under a bridge somewhere. Loathsome POS.
She is a Culture Marxist through and through
Damn! Now I have to go buy something at Target. It’s 40 miles away. What am I going to do with back-to-school supplies?
For the record, enforcing the nation’s immigration laws is “job one” for ICE, even the reason for its existence. I wish ICE were more diligent in doing that job.
Their house brand for food, Archer Farms, is a pretty good Line. I like their spices. They come in glass jars for one thing.
We can’t stop the unions from operating. They have a constitutional right to exist, just like any other private organization. We don’t have to give them any legal privileges, but we can’t just dissolve them, any more then the government can dissolve Legal Insurrection.
Hi Milhouse, soooo.
Based upon that statement “can’t just disolve”…. say the Tea Party?
But they most certainly were…?
You do insist we fight the fight of 1776, with 1789 constitution.
I still say we are in (declared) unconventional warfare.
No, the TEA Party movement was not dissolved. Certainly not by the government. There wasn’t anything to dissolve, because it didn’t have a corporate structure. It was a genuine grassroots movement, not an organization.
Unions originally organized against non-free market capitalists. Who is the teacher’s union now organizing against? The people who pay them, as in the Taxpayers. You, me, and the guy behind the tree.
It doesn’t matter. They have the absolute first amendment right to organize for any purpose whatsoever. But they don’t have to be given any legal privileges. No union should have legal privileges. Congress should dissolve the NLRB, not the unions.
Public employee unions are a scourge.
They “negotiate” with politicians for new contracts every few years, and then fund their campaigns.
How much real “negotiation” do you think actually occurs?
Even FDR was adamantly opposed to public employee unions.
I don’t give a **** what FDR was opposed to. Unions have an unalienable right to exist so long as their members want them to. Government should not encourage them, and should certainly not give them privileges not available to other private associations, but it must not presume to interfere with them, just as it must not interfere with other private associations, such as Legal Insurrection.
Okay, so they are allowed to unionize in your scenario.
Should the union also be able to contribute to candidates for office who presumably have the power to approve contracts with union members?
I think that is an obvious conflict of interest.
The way to deal with them is to hold up their terrible record in “teaching”, and then fire them all.
The few good and caring teachers would be casualties, but they can reapply.
We can’t, but the Marxists will
Unions are for pay and benefits. Not for political activism. Teachers unions represent public employees. Once they get into political activism and boycotts of private businesses the are no longer acting as unions and should be decertified to represent teachers in that area. What do the parents think of their children’s teachers. Maybe those parents should be boycotting and protesting those schools and teachers who are failing their responsibilities as teachers.
God this is stupid. Target is about one of the most woke businesses out there. So much so that I avoid buying stuff from them. The complaint is that they aren’t doing enough. Exactly what is enough? I bet the troll couldn’t tell you because it is never enough for trolls.
Sounds like a shakedown.
The way to limit the power of teachers’ unions, or to take it from them entirely, is by changing the laws of each state that has granted them the power.
Yes. Also federal laws. And not just teachers’ unions. All unions should have exactly as much power as any other private club.
Exactly so. Their members should be free to associate with each other, raise funds (lawfully), advocate. That is lowercase union.
What the current uppercase Union shouldn’t have are access to payroll deductions, collective bargaining power (other than their voluntary members), tax breaks for their org,and so on. While workers should be free to ignore them and choose not to associate themselves with a union, not have their $ confiscated by them nor to allow the union to interfere in an employment agreement/contract between the individual worker and the employer.
The goal should be to turn Unions into unions focused on improving the skills of their members and voluntary mutual aid societies.
So many marxist morons posing as “educators.”
Randi Weingarten and Madalyn Murray O’Hair — separated at birth?
Public sector unions are an unacceptable moral hazard for governance. They wrecked California politics and have a similar impact elsewhere.
FDR was correct in his assessment of public sector unions. And we should listen to it.
Randi-the-pig Weingarten vs. Target. LOL. Good luck with that.
There are still people on the right boycotting Target because they insist upon allowing mentally ill men to share restroom facilities with our daughters and wives…not to mention their short-lived tranny clothing line for kids.
Now the teacher’s unions want the left to boycott them because they won’t condemn ICE.
Pretty soon their customer base is going to be restricted to trannies ogling each other in the bathrooms.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
American Family Association led a years-long boycott of Target due to its in-your-face advocacy for transvestism. AFA ended the boycott months ago, saying they had made their point, and Target has dialed back its promotion of homosexuality and transvestism.
Here in St. Paul, there’s a palpable sense that our streets are finally safer. That’s all thanks to ICE, who largely succeeded in their mission here to rid us of alien criminals despite all the idiotic sloganeering and resistance by local poseurs. Please remind everyone in your circles that the E in ICE is for Enforcement. If you don’t like our immigration laws, get them changed through democratic methods. But the Left only cares about “our democracy” when they approve of the results.
Nice incentive for me to buy more at Targét! 😀
I’ll triple my buys.
Last time I was in a Target was the Christmas of 2013 their system got hacked and my credit card had to be canceled because of them. Haven’t been back since. Additionally, in my opinion, the things I buy for my use are of better quality almost anywhere else.
End local taxing authority for the schools and put it into state control. Then allocate the funding among all districts equally, so all those rich communities that pay about $20,000 per student by taxing themselves more than say the poor of detroit will see a bunch of their school tax money going to detroit.
That will enrage the rich who will demand school choice be an option and hopefully they also demand a reduction of staff and teachers as there will be fewer students. No need for teachers to sit around doing nothing if fewer students utilize the system.
Which will reduce the reliance on public schools, which will also reduce the unions dues.
Or put that ugly troll whinegarten on trial for libeling the ICE agents as they weren’t charged, nor convicted of murder. Sue her for say a billion, try and keep her from using union funds to defend herself.
Considering what these idiots have done to education in the US, never mind their idiotic COVID decisions, my feeling is the best thing to do is to do the opposite.
Leave a Comment