Archived Unionize

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VonGrauten

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I'm going to put this out there because it needs to be said.

First off I'm a former Target employee I left four months ago and am doing considerably better.

Secondly, the fact that Target is making billions but can't afford a livable wage for all of its employees is reprehensible. Also the fact that you work yourself to the bone and they give you a great review only to give you 12 cents more an hour is an insult. Your skills and experience deserve more. Without you the stores cease to function.

From what I've read and observed if the continuing tread continues it will get worse, much much worse.

The largest rumor I've heard is that a college degree will be require for Team Leads going forward. If that's true it doesn't matter how hard you work anymore. Requiring that for an hourly lead position is WRONG and you the employees should stand up for yourselves.

I'd like to see we started to see stores S imagine how quickly Target would fold. It starts with one store, then another and another. Unionize demand a say in the company you work so hard for. Don't let the people on the top **** on your hard work.

Although I know this will never happen it would be nice if it did.
 
It's not like somebody would suggest a work slowdown to occur on some day like, February 10th, or anything...
 
VonGrauten said:
I'm going to put this out there because it needs to be said.

First off I'm a former Target employee I left four months ago and am doing considerably better.

Secondly, the fact that Target is making billions but can't afford a livable wage for all of its employees is reprehensible. Also the fact that you work yourself to the bone and they give you a great review only to give you 12 cents more an hour is an insult. Your skills and experience deserve more. Without you the stores cease to function.

From what I've read and observed if the continuing tread continues it will get worse, much much worse.

The largest rumor I've heard is that a college degree will be require for Team Leads going forward. If that's true it doesn't matter how hard you work anymore. Requiring that for an hourly lead position is WRONG and you the employees should stand up for yourselves.

I'd like to see we started to see stores S imagine how quickly Target would fold. It starts with one store, then another and another. Unionize demand a say in the company you work so hard for. Don't let the people on the top **** on your hard work.

Although I know this will never happen it would be nice if it did.
Click to expand...

I'd like to see a more passive resistance, where people just quit doing the bullmash that corporate comes up with and passes down to the Etl's. I've seen it done on a limited scale at my store, and with great success. Like one time they wanted our instocks team to do an "INTENSE" scan on our frozen foods coolers. It had something to do with the Mclane orders and they thought having us do a 1 on 1 scan once a week would be a great idea. So me and another team member purposely spent 5 hours scanning the coolers, pausing to make jokes on the walkie about our "intensity." Well they obviously wanted to know why research didn't get done that day, and ended up abandoning their stupid idea.
 
this is a BRILLIANT post, thank you! Our ENTIRE COUNTRY needs to START UNIONZING =) EVERY person who earns LESS than $40,000/year NEEDS to UNIONIZE and NOW!!!!
 
nah, to be in a union isn't a waste of time, to NOT be in a union is truly wasting your time
 
So you want to show what a union is all about by working half speed? How is that not wasting time, productivity, etc? You want others to join your club because once you're in the club this can be the new working standard....half speed? I'm missing something.
 
insiteful1 said:
So you want to show what a union is all about by working half speed? How is that not wasting time, productivity, etc? You want others to join your club because once you're in the club this can be the new working standard....half speed? I'm missing something.
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Yes you are. The point is to show that everyone is together.
lrn2organize
 
Hate to break it you guys, the work we do I could train a 7 year old to do... The world is not fair and thats just how it is... The logic of paying everyone 40k a year is funny to me... Do you not realise Target has overhead? You do realise all of those daily sales isnt straight profit? Do you ever look at the AP tracking tool of how much items cost? Target loses money on some things that we sell and to make up for that it has to make it up on other things....

Lets take a box of storage totes Lets say there are 6 in there and they cost $10 each retail and target pays $7 each .. Meaning you sell all 6 you get $60. Take out the $42 in Target cost means without any other cost involved in this item its $18 bucks profit for this box.... Well you forget you have the guy at the DC who has to pull that item who makes $14 bucks an hour and the time it takes them to get it on the truck is probably I'd say 5 minutes of time. So thats another $1.15 of cost in that one item.. Well it takes your team another 10 minutes of payroll to unload it from truck, bowl it, push it. This employee is making $10 an hour. Meaning now your store has used another $1.68 of this items profit. If you happen to break 1 of those 6 which does tend to happen with these totes even after the chargeback process your still out another $5 bucks. So now the profit on that box is like $10.... Now you have to take out the cost of operating such as bags, land rent, electricity, paying the ETLs, cost of the cleaning crew, cost of gifts for your team, paying the people at corporate, and all the other cost that go into running a store. People dont think of these things when they think they are screwed with pay. Its a business they need to make money. Im sure if you owned your own store you would want to make as much as possible also.

Now onto the 40k a year thing... No good could ever come of that... If everyone made 40k inflation would go through the roof... It would just balance out with the cost of goods going up in price. That 15k car would turn into a 25k car, that $1 sweet tea at mcdonalds would go to $1.50. The movies would go from $24 a ticket to $50 a ticket =). If everyones take home pay went up in the country the supply of everything would be less meaning higher prices...

Also if people could make 40k a year working retail as a donkey less and less people would go to college and while your talent pool at Target would probably be much higher the stores would be much more picky in who they pick to work their meaning the people who really need to be working these jobs would be out of luck because more and more people would want this job so those who's talents would only normally be able to land them a retail or fast food job are now out of luck.

People need to learn to live within their means. My team lead spent half of last year as a team member and half as a team lead and he only made $22k last year and he was able to support him and his gf who is currently in school. We also live in a state with one of the highest cost of living. They got a roomate, they dont have cable, they dont go out and party ever weekend, he doesnt wear $100 dollar shoes, he shops in bulk. Not everyone is ment to drive a BMW, own a big house or go on vacations all the time... Work hard for what you want and in the meantime be smart with what you do have.
 
JuicedSoftball,

I've been saying that same stuff on here since I joined, but it just falls on deaf ears. However, it's good to know someone else has a sensible approach to things.
 
naterstx said:
JuicedSoftball,

I've been saying that same stuff on here since I joined, but it just falls on deaf ears. However, it's good to know someone else has a sensible approach to things.
Click to expand...

So you believe only certain workers should having living wages and at a chance a middle class life? I guess the unwashed masses should shut up and accept their lot in life. They must be inferior beings who should just be thankful to exist as working poor wastes of space.

I suppose we need to return to the robber-baron days when the working class knew their place in society.
 
hatemyjob said:
So you believe only certain workers should having living wages and at a chance a middle class life? I guess the unwashed masses should shut up and accept their lot in life. They must be inferior beings who should just be thankful to exist as working poor wastes of space.

I suppose we need to return to the robber-baron days when the working class knew their place in society.
Click to expand...


Or you could try to keep from living beyond your means...

When I started with Target I was making $6.50 and working 30-35 hours a week as a cart attendant. I was able to afford my apartment, utilities and anything else I needed to live. I couldn't go out and splurge on the latest toys, but if I scrimped and saved for a bit I could get them eventually.

I haven't posted about this, but all of this BS is getting out of control. Every single thread lately is, we need to organize, if we were union it would all be sunshine and roses. Not everyone here thinks that Target is evil, and no I'm not a TL / ETL spouting the company line, I just think most of you are ridiculous.
 
hatemyjob said:
So you believe only certain workers should having living wages and at a chance a middle class life? I guess the unwashed masses should shut up and accept their lot in life. They must be inferior beings who should just be thankful to exist as working poor wastes of space.

I suppose we need to return to the robber-baron days when the working class knew their place in society.
Click to expand...

No, just live within your means and work to improve those means (whether that's at Target, or elsewhere). There isn't a single TM position at Target that I couldn't teach my 10 year old nephew, and outside of heavy lifting, he could do every single TM job in the store without much trouble. What do you think you should get paid for a job a 10 year old could successfully complete? I think minimum wage sounds about right, small raises as appropriate to keep up with inflation, and that's about it.

Now as for this being "livable" wage, what do you mean livable? Get a room mate, get three if you have to, stop going out every weekend, stop eating out, stop going to starbucks, stop buying new phones/tablets/games, cancel your premium cable package, etc. Minimum wage is perfectly livable if you live appropriately.

A chance at a middle class life? Well lets see, it is possible to become a TL without a degree right? Ok, so do that, even if it takes 5-10 years, if you start at Target at 18, you're now a 23-28 year old TL. Now go to school part-time, almost completely on Target's dime. This takes probably 6-8 years to complete when you're going part-time, but it can be done, I've seen it. So now you've got that degree and you're 29-36. Get an ETL position, even if you can't get one at Target, you CAN find a "middle class" job now. Bam, done.

Stop crying, live within your means, earn what you want and stop expecting hand outs... that's my message. I joined the Army to pay off my student loans and help me finish school (and that whole serving my country thing), I hear they're still hiring and still paying for school. There are plenty of ways to "work yourself up to a middle class life", you just have to actually put in the effort to get there.
 
I'm going to quote Ted Knight from the movie Caddyshack: "The world needs ditch diggers, too."
Everything I need to know about economics is in Harold Ramis comedies.
 
Ajax11 said:
Or you could try to keep from living beyond your means...

When I started with Target I was making $6.50 and working 30-35 hours a week as a cart attendant. I was able to afford my apartment, utilities and anything else I needed to live. I couldn't go out and splurge on the latest toys, but if I scrimped and saved for a bit I could get them eventually.

I haven't posted about this, but all of this BS is getting out of control. Every single thread lately is, we need to organize, if we were union it would all be sunshine and roses. Not everyone here thinks that Target is evil, and no I'm not a TL / ETL spouting the company line, I just think most of you are ridiculous.
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i would be curious to see how this opinion varies based on length of time with the company rather than position. i am a tl. i'm not spouting a company line. i think they're getting too top heavy with management and too concerned with the political and shareholders' agendas to worry about selling stuff. our competition is getting more fierce, stealing our tricks that made us a stand out, now they are seeing more traffic. we do not have the same level of talent on the actual sales floor because we are cutting dept. specific positions and all that remains are elts checking their email offstage for hours on end. someone making 8 bucks is not going to work as hard as someone making 12, unless they're part of the dangling carrot management technique. you lose your experience to other retailers when the pay is the same but the benefits are not par and you can't take care of your family.for all the people whining that older people need to leave and let the young part timers have it, you ARE getting older. it doesn't take long for time to creep up or to have unforseen circumstances happen and you end up spending a decade at spot and becoming one of the dreaded old folks. it's not a wage issue, a benefit issue, a promotional issue, etc.; it's a culmination of these. your employees are getting hit from all directions and when the open door policy isn't really what it is supposed to be, they lose faith in their managers and lose faith in the company. we all know spot will screw us over for a dollar deep down inside, but when they wave that dollar around and smack you with it, it angers you.
i think the people who are here longer are seeing more of the downward trend of respect and organization ability and are plain old pissed off at what they see. some of them will leave. some of them will be termed. some are getting the "union" ideas planted, for better or for worse. target needs to tread carefully. they're no longer the publics eye candy and they are making mistakes with their workforce that will end up depleting their stores and leaving a sour taste with their guests. for me it has nothing to do with living beyond my means, it's more like, i've worked extremely hard, and want to retire one day. doesn't matter where. but i don't want to see my fellow tm screwed over or lied to. i don't want to be mistreated or disrespected because of my age, gender, race, degree abilities. i just want to come to work, do my job, and save the drama for party night.
 
Unions do NOT encourage their TM's to go at "half speed" though we all know unions have to do what they have to do to get employers to be willing to compromise on raises, promotions, benefits, etc. Until now employers had ALL the power, unions take some of that away to HELP the hourly employees!
 
"No, just live within your means and work to improve those means (whether that's at Target, or elsewhere). There isn't a single TM position at Target that I couldn't teach my 10 year old nephew, and outside of heavy lifting, he could do every single TM job in the store without much trouble. What do you think you should get paid for a job a 10 year old could successfully complete? I think minimum wage sounds about right, small raises as appropriate to keep up with inflation, and that's about it."

Ok, and guess what? I could teach your 10 year old to do the same job of an ETL. I was a TL for years buddy, and I've seen a lot of the behind the scenes "work" ETLs do that a TM like you has no clue about. I can't tell you how many times I went back to the TL/ETL offices only to find every ETL in the building sitting around a table eating gobs of take out food for literally 3 hour intervals. ETLs are purely order takers. Nearly every single direction they give comes from emails/workbench messages/DTL directing them to do something. Then they pass it along to us (TLs) to actually make it happen. ETLs convice TMs like you that they are the brains behind the store, but the fact is nothing is further from the truth. You think when your ETLs disappear for hours they are in their office concoting some master plan to better the store. Hate to tell you this, but 95% of the time they are screwing around eating/playing on the computer/talking to each other. In other words, being an ETL actually requires less brains than a TL or even a TM in some cases.

So, now that we have established a 10 year old could also do an ETLs job, explain to me again why minimum wage sounds right for TMs?
 
Unions can take away the power of the hard worker. My husband was in one. They had to go by seniority who could stay later or who they could call in. The bosses wanted to call in my husband the harder worker but couldnt' because of seniority and a union. I agree with the others. Every job does not deserve a living wage. They are called entry level jobs with the posibility of moving up by hard work, college etc. Why shouldn't I earn more than someone who slides by because they are in a union and are untouchable as opposed to the hard worker or person who spent their money and got a college degree. I do not have a degree. But every job I worked hard, learned the business and then moved up to a higher posistion and more money. I also lived within my means and was always able to pay my bills.
 
flonomo said:
Unions can take away the power of the hard worker. My husband was in one. They had to go by seniority who could stay later or who they could call in. The bosses wanted to call in my husband the harder worker but couldnt' because of seniority and a union. I agree with the others. Every job does not deserve a living wage. They are called entry level jobs with the posibility of moving up by hard work, college etc. Why shouldn't I earn more than someone who slides by because they are in a union and are untouchable as opposed to the hard worker or person who spent their money and got a college degree. I do not have a degree. But every job I worked hard, learned the business and then moved up to a higher posistion and more money. I also lived within my means and was always able to pay my bills.
Click to expand...

LOL.... I have to admit, union or not, I always find it amusing when someone says they are treated unfairly because they are the "harder worker". Some of the biggest slacker TMs in my store run around telling me they are the "hardest worker" in the store.
 
Ajax11 said:
Or you could try to keep from living beyond your means...

When I started with Target I was making $6.50 and working 30-35 hours a week as a cart attendant. I was able to afford my apartment, utilities and anything else I needed to live. I couldn't go out and splurge on the latest toys, but if I scrimped and saved for a bit I could get them eventually.

I haven't posted about this, but all of this BS is getting out of control. Every single thread lately is, we need to organize, if we were union it would all be sunshine and roses. Not everyone here thinks that Target is evil, and no I'm not a TL / ETL spouting the company line, I just think most of you are ridiculous.
Click to expand...

:dash1:

Maybe you could have pulled this off in like 1980 with a couple roomates. But if you're paying rent for a one bedroom apartment, you couldn't afford rent, electricity, water, internet, phone, grocery, car insurance, etc, on 35 hours a week at 6.50
 
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