Archived A little confused

[alittleconfused]

One of my co-workers asked the logistics ETL about the 15 cent raise he got and was told "Sorry, you aren't worth 18 cents." I thought that was horrible and decided to discuss it with a couple other team members. Not long after that I was working on the food truck and mentioned to someone that the ETL who said that is an "asshole." Someone overheard me and reported me to HR and I was written up and when they wrote me up they mentioned that if I EVER spoke of the 18 cent thing again, I would be terminated. Some of my co-workers asked me why I was written up and they're my friends so I didn't mind sharing so I told them what happend and somehow that got back to HR. She was furious and said that if I discussed anything related to my write up or the 18 cent thing again, I would be terminated. Today I was told by the STL that if I talk about anything that isn't "brand" or "Target related" I will be terminated.

Thoughts?

 

[ClearanceMaster]

The only thing you can really do is call the hotline. You can remain anonymous but they're going to know who complained anyway so you'd do best to be on your best behavior.. not a toe out of line, if you want to keep your job. The HR and STL are obviously trying to protect the ETL.. he's probably gotten some kind of heat from them though so he shouldn't do it again...

If it's something you and your co-worker can put behind you, and write off as someone just being a jerk.. do it. If it happens again, definitely report it.

 

[redeye58]

Also remember that the walls have ears.
Some stores have developed a pretty hardened culture, particularly what TMs talk about.
A long-time TM was overheard talking about his paltry raise & was written up for a demoralizing attitude.
I noticed recently that he wasn't around & was told that he transferred to another store.

 

[alittleconfused]

I was told that it's against Target policy to discuss your pay and I told HR that we never talked about our pay, we talked about the rude comment made by the ETL. I also asked for something that shows Target policy about what I can and cannot talk about and the STL got pissed.

 

[The Dude Abides]

I was told that it's against Target policy to discuss your pay and I told HR that we never talked about our pay, we talked about the rude comment made by the ETL. I also asked for something that shows Target policy about what I can and cannot talk about and the STL got pissed.

It's actually illegal for them to tell you this. Target just lost a lawsuit to the NLRB over this exact issue.

 

[alittleconfused]

I was told that it's against Target policy to discuss your pay and I told HR that we never talked about our pay, we talked about the rude comment made by the ETL. I also asked for something that shows Target policy about what I can and cannot talk about and the STL got pissed.

It's actually illegal for them to tell you this. Target just lost a lawsuit to the NLRB over this exact issue.

Really? Can you explain a little more? I'd love to have a legitimate response next time someone says something like that.

 

[Rarejem]

It's sad that even the STL thinks that discussing pay is demoralizing.

 

[Guest]

Discussing pay is demoralizing for team members since team members make scraps. It's not toward TLs, sr. TLs, ETLs, or STLs.

 

[oath2order]

It's sad that even the STL thinks that discussing pay is demoralizing.

Yeah that's because the STL doesn't want us to know the pittance we're getting paid compared to what they get paid.

 

[Burlseveryday]

If you do call the hotline, try and get some people you trust to call as well. There's power in numbers...

 

[The Dude Abides]

I was told that it's against Target policy to discuss your pay and I told HR that we never talked about our pay, we talked about the rude comment made by the ETL. I also asked for something that shows Target policy about what I can and cannot talk about and the STL got pissed.

It's actually illegal for them to tell you this. Target just lost a lawsuit to the NLRB over this exact issue.

Really? Can you explain a little more? I'd love to have a legitimate response next time someone says something like that.

http://www.thebreakroom.org/index.php?threads/target-violated-federal-law-according-to-the-nlrb-notice-on-ehr-that-no-one-saw.7449

 

[Mhugh220]

As an ETL-Log, talking about how pay raises work can be the hardest thing to convey to TMs. A 15 cent increase can seem small but realistically it's an expected raise. Most raises, without being promoted, range between 2%-5%. Depending on what a TM makes, 2% could be 15 cents. Another factor is time in grade. A TM can cap out and only make a significant increase if they get a promotion to TL. I had a backroom TM who was with Target for 13 years and was upset about his 18 cent raise. ETLs can see a similar pay increase, 2%-5%, however their increase seems much higher because they have a higher annual salary.

The ETL was disrespectful to say the TM wasn't worth 18 cents. I would like to see the policy that got you written up. That may be borderline coaching material but not a written coaching, especially not a corrective action. Negative attitudes are not encouraged but there isn't a policy against it. Target can only pursue performance issues and conduct issues (which a bad attitude isn't enough for conduct).

These are mostly threats. You can't be rightfully termed for saying that. Talking about salary is an ethical issue not policy, nothing stops people from talking about salary, which wasn't your case. If the ETL is a jerk then he's a jerk and TMs should be able to talk about that amongst themselves freely. I would call the hotline if you feel threatened. Also strength in numbers will help.

 

[konk]

I checked Mytime the other day and an ETL was still logged in. It was not impressive, especially if she works 50 hours per week.

 

[Goingstrong]

Negative attitudes are not encouraged but there isn't a policy against it. Target can only pursue performance issues and conduct issues (which a bad attitude isn't enough for conduct).

They could do the write up on Fast,Fun, & Friendly attitude. It all depends on who approves it.

It does, however, state in the handbook (if I remember correctly) that TMs can discuss pay, as long as all parties are comfortable with it.

 

[awbuckit]

I checked Mytime the other day and an ETL was still logged in. It was not impressive, especially if she works 50 hours per week.

A while back an ETL-HR (no longer with the company) left their paycheck in their mailbox, all ripped open. Yeah, I peeked. Not impressed either. My husband makes more and works less and does not have to drink the red kool-aid.

 

[Mhugh220]

Negative attitudes are not encouraged but there isn't a policy against it. Target can only pursue performance issues and conduct issues (which a bad attitude isn't enough for conduct).

They could do the write up on Fast,Fun, & Friendly attitude. It all depends on who approves it.

It does, however, state in the handbook (if I remember correctly) that TMs can discuss pay, as long as all parties are comfortable with it.

This wouldn't fly with our HRBP. We actually had to thoroughly justify writing TMs up for NCNS which is typically an automatic CA/Final/Term, in that order. Call outs, what a joke. A TM could call out regularly and we couldn't do anything about it. Now when it came to attitude, TM could not be touched. ETLs got the finger pointed at them if TMs had poor attitudes. Hey Target, how about you stop trying to reinvent the wheel with your stupid rollouts and try being innovative. And how about taking care of your TMs by paying them a better salary. Also, you can't please everyone. We can do FFF events all day, give out free stuff, and there will always be a few bad apples.

This is by store of course and how the HRBP operates. A few years back an ETL Log in our district used to send people home if they were over 5 mins late to work. The next workday the TM was put on CA for failing to follow instructions. The next incident got escalated to Final and the third was a term. Another bending of the rules happened when TMs weren't pushing boxes to a specified speed. The ETL kept track of how long an aisle should take. After a month he set standards and anyone who couldn't catch up got termed quickly. His ETL HR was on board so things got moving quickly. I had TMs overnight clock in and immediately go on a 15 min smoke break, couldn't touch them. So....I cut their hours.

 

[Mhugh220]

I checked Mytime the other day and an ETL was still logged in. It was not impressive, especially if she works 50 hours per week.

A while back an ETL-HR (no longer with the company) left their paycheck in their mailbox, all ripped open. Yeah, I peeked. Not impressed either. My husband makes more and works less and does not have to drink the red kool-aid.

For the amount of hours ETLs can put in they don't always get paid well. My suggestion to future ETLs, take nothing less than $65,000 - $70,000.