Archived Worker group presses Target to boost hourly wage

[qmosqueen]

here is the jist of the story...

A women's group has started a campaign calling on Target Corp (TGT.N) to raise its hourly wages, as pressure builds on retailers to follow Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) in boosting worker pay.

UltraViolet, a group which advocates for women's issues, said it has taken out online ads in three states and started an online petition pressing Target to increase its wages.

The online ads - which say "Did you know there's a Walmart near you that pays higher minimum wage than Target?" - are being aired near three large Target stores in Minneapolis, Pennsylvania and Nebraska.


read the whole story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/10/us-target-wages-idUSKBN0M62C820150310

http://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/target-rejects-minimum-wage-debate-as-unreasonable#.hmwNq3eBy



SIGN the petiton here:

http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/Target_min_wage/?source=uv_website

if anyone has seen the TV ads or has a link please post it thanks !!!!!

 

[commiecorvus]

It will be interesting to see if this starts to tarnish Spot's reputation as being better that Walmart, since we've known for years that (at least for the way it treats it's employees) there isn't that much difference.

 

[Redzee]

"...they are greedy and blind to the lives of those they deem less important than their own..." Beorn. Hope pressure is effective.

 

[greatteam]

Target is finally being called out and unsurprisingly, corporate is responding with vague answers and dancing around the question. Which, actually answers the questions. About time they get called out for being shady.

 

[PullMeBackIn]

It will be interesting to see if this starts to tarnish Spot's reputation as being better that Walmart, since we've known for years that (at least for the way it treats it's employees) there isn't that much difference.

The difference came when Walmart announced the $10 starting wage. That was the exact point at which Walmart has fully surpassed Target in treatment of employees.

 

[dabeastfromtheeast]

Yes, but would this really be putting Target before the team?

 

[iVibe]

My target treats me very well, I just want my wage to be raised to at $11/hour. This is not unskilled work. Hell, the high turnover rate should be proof enough

 

[tgtguy]

If Spot was to pay more then they will simply recoup their losses in other ways. Ie, less hours. Do I think Spot should pay more ? Of course I do.However, the extra money they would spend on payroll...would have to come from somewhere. I am pretty sure the CEO isn't going to take a pay cut or any of the other Corp officers to cover the "loss" to Spot. I would like Spot to commit to paying more AND treating their team members better AND being more consistent/fair with the hours . If they pay more but you get less hours....then you are no better off than you were to begin with.

 

[RS190]

On the other hand the high turnover rate could just suggest how expendable everyone is. I'm all for paying team members more but don't think they don't make up the money somewhere else

 

[PinkZinnia]

My store did a pay increase across the board so everyone was above minimum wage..sadly I was squeaking by at just above so I did not see an extra penny. Was this only done where I work?

The sad part is, all TM's hours have been cut to crap since increase went into effect in January..

 

[RS190]

My store did a pay increase across the board so everyone was above minimum wage..sadly I was squeaking by at just above so I did not see an extra penny. Was this only done where I work?

The sad part is, all TM's hours have been cut to crap since increase went into effect in January..

Not just your store. When I first started I was making 15 cents above base pay (they argued since I was work the company less than a year to my review that was the best they could do). Then base pay went up 25 cents and I was back to making minimum. Not the exact same scenario as yours, but my stores increased base pay several times since then and I haven't gotten another raise out of that (I now make well over base.)

My states increasing minimum wage soon, guarantee I still won't see pay increased

 

[iVibe]

The high turnover rate can mean many things every store is different

 

[sigma7]

High turnover rates tend to suggest that the workforce is not highly skilled since the workforce is easily replaced, hence high turnover.

 

[sigma7]

I definitely think that Target underpays its employees and that retail workers in general are underpaid, but I don't think we work a skilled job. No one goes to customer service school or stocking school or cash register school to get a retail job.

These are important and useful skills, but they're not anything that take long to learn the basics of. It takes some time to become skilled at working retail, but it's not anything that requires special skills from the get go.

There are some skills you can learn at Target that should be more valuable outside of retail. Sales (as in selling things, not ringing sales), customer service (real guest service is an art and skill, but not just simply asking CIHYFS?), human resource management, business management, barista, etc.

 

[RS190]

Agreed, you can become skilled in your position, but I don't consider it skilled work because they hire literally anyone off the streets to work, it's a starter job, and as unpopular an opinion as it is, people shouldn't get a cashier job expecting to make enough to live off of. Team leaders and up is a different story but anybody can get a bottom level position

 

[iVibe]

Different strokes for different folks. I agree to disagree

 

[sigma7]

Agreed, you can become skilled in your position, but I don't consider it skilled work because they hire literally anyone off the streets to work, it's a starter job, and as unpopular an opinion as it is, people shouldn't get a cashier job expecting to make enough to live off of. Team leaders and up is a different story but anybody can get a bottom level position

I mostly agree, but I don't think anyone who is working full time should be under the poverty line. Part timers, students, sure whatever. Although, there are entry level jobs other than retail where you can make decent money. I've know several servers, bartenders, and office types who have made decent money without having any sort of specialized formal training or degree. Most of them don't have the headache of no hours either. It's probably good form to note that the most successful bartenders and servers I know work for locally owned establishments as opposed to major chains.

 

[commiecorvus]

The idea that someone can work a full time job and still be in poverty is disgusting.

 

[Ringwraith917]

This was a smart move by Walmart because they knew it would put more pressure on an already hurting Target. They spend a few million, put Target in a hard spot, and minimum wages are probably going to go up anyway in the next year or two. I think we all just need to hang in there with the pay we have and be happy we still have jobs while Target gets back up on its feet.

 

[redeye58]

Doesn't necessarily have to be a 'skilled' job to pay decently.
Would you rather pay minimum for a cashier who calls out/NCNS a lot? Someone who's just marking time until something better opens up? Someone who - just as they start getting proficient at their job - leaves?
Wouldn't it make more sense to pay someone a little more instead of wasting money having to train newbies over & over?

 

[RS190]

Doesn't necessarily have to be a 'skilled' job to pay decently.
Would you rather pay minimum for a cashier who calls out/NCNS a lot? Someone who's just marking time until something better opens up? Someone who - just as they start getting proficient at their job - leaves?
Wouldn't it make more sense to pay someone a little more instead of wasting money having to train newbies over & over?

I mean, it'd still be the same job, i don't think paying more will lessen the amount of newbies getting hired, or leaving/getting fired

 

[POGguy]

Paying more and giving better hours will cut down on turnover, and in turn, will cut down on the cost of hiring a new employee. It costs money to hire new people. Drug test, background checks, training, paperwork. It all adds up.

 

[redeye58]

This.^
Walmart isn't only banking on the pay bump; regular hrs will have as big an impact.
You don't have to pay a cashier $12/hr or even give them 35 hrs/wk BUT......
give them a bit more than minimum, reward them for staying around & gaining proficiency, give them a consistent schedule & you've shown a LITTLE investment in your employee.
By giving them a regular schedule, they could do like many at my store & work a second job whose schedule compliments this one so no worries about their hrs being high enough to qualify for bennies.
At the same time, you're stemming the loss of $$ spent training newbs.

 

[TargetOldTimer]

You hit it right on the head redeye.

 

[thatcashierdude]

Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder did not comment on UltraViolet specifically but said the company was committed to paying competitive wages, while noting that all workers at its roughly 1,800 stores made more than the federal minimum.

There it is again. Anyone making 7.25 an hour here? I'm sure there are some.

She's either completely ignorant on the pay target workers get or she is willingly lying because she knows they won't investigate.

Thanks @Retail Girl for pointing that out to me in another thread.