Archived Hours cut! Everybody is really pissed off at my store!

[NPC]

That would be year and year.

Ah, you're right. So, 4 years?

 

[Kartman]

No, that would be year and year and year and year.

Capish?

 

[Frontlanegirl]

A few years back our hr made a deal with the team and didnt hire a single seasonal person. Hrbp called when they sent the form to confirm. We all banked insane hours as the deal was no call outs. By the end we were all so burnt out but the paychecks man I will never EVER see that again. But the trade for health was brutal as all heck. This year they way over hired and full timers barely banked 34. Not sure which I would prefer at this point.

A happy medium. Hire some seasonals, but allow for regular TM's to do O/T.

 

[Timeclockhound]

Target has part-time benefits for Team Members who average at least 19.5 hours. You don't need to average 40 hours for full-time benefits. Full-time benefits start at just 29.5 hours.

View attachment 4465

This has been brought to NRVstrike’s attention multiple times, yet they deleted the post with the information. Anytime something is brought up against their cause, they either delete the post or dismiss because most of the team is upset with their tactics. They keep bringing up the former STL situation which has been over before 4th quarter. Now that hours are cut, which happens every year, they are causing more issues. We don’t want this workers commitee. We don’t want the added stress.

 

[TargetWrkrsUnite]

This has been brought to NRVstrike’s attention multiple times, yet they deleted the post with the information. Anytime something is brought up against their cause, they either delete the post or dismiss because most of the team is upset with their tactics. They keep bringing up the former STL situation which has been over before 4th quarter. Now that hours are cut, which happens every year, they are causing more issues. We don’t want this workers commitee. We don’t want the added stress.

So Target offers healthcare plans for part timers, that in and of itself has no bearing on the affordability of said plans if you factor in the amount of income a part timer recieves. It does little good to offer healthcare plans when people cannot afford it. The alternative would be that the Corp offers healthcare out of its pocket rather than the workers. And yes I know there is a faction who want no involvement in our efforts and that's yalls right, but that shouldnt stand in the way of the workers who do want to be a part of the discussion rather than feeling like they have to hide their opinions from the faction which wants to intimidate others into silence. If you all think your position is correct and that there is no need or interest in a worker committee or even the newsletter then you should have nothing to fear since we won't gain any traction and you wont have to spend all this time obsessing on what some miniscule group of workers are attempting. Yall say you want no involvement in what we are doing, but you continously keep trying to intervene or disrupt us, why not be consistent and leave us alone? We've respected the wishes of every worker who doesn't want to be involved, we leave workers alone who want to be left alone.

 

[Tessa120]

So Target offers healthcare plans for part timers, that in and of itself has no bearing on the affordability of said plans if you factor in the amount of income a part timer recieves. It does little good to offer healthcare plans when people cannot afford it. The alternative would be that the Corp offers healthcare out of its pocket rather than the workers.

No. The only reasonable alternative is single payer health care, like what Canada has. No one should ever have to fear that a loss of a job (whether being fired or willingly leaving) means losing the ability to afford a doctor, especially if you have a chronic illness. Take your activist energy and work for that.

 

[TargetWrkrsUnite]

No. The only reasonable alternative is single payer health care, like what Canada has. No one should ever have to fear that a loss of a job (whether being fired or willingly leaving) means losing the ability to afford a doctor, especially if you have a chronic illness. Take your activist energy and work for that.

I wonder which strategy is more likely to be realized first. As much as I'd prefer state-mandated universal health care I think that demand is much further off than pressing the corps we work for to cover all their workers medical needs.

 

[HiddenPenguin]

@NRVstrike After all this back and forth, I'm still not clear on what exactly your objectives are... There's been plenty of discussion of theory and ideals, but what are you looking for from the people on this forum? Can you give me the main bullet points?

 

[HRLady]

.. and 12 months of employment. Don't leave that out. It's 12 months of employment and 29.5 hours on average for healthcare benefits.

I didn't leave that out. It says so right in the attachment that I included with my post.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

@NRVstrike After all this back and forth, I'm still not clear on what exactly your objectives are... There's been plenty of discussion of theory and ideals, but what are you looking for from the people on this forum? Can you give me the main bullet points?

Here it is:
Hey Target team, help us coworkers stop Target executives from funding hate-based politicians - https://www.thebreakroom.org/threads/hey-target-team-help-us-coworkers-stop-target-executives-from-funding-hate-based-politicians.18458/

 

[TargetWrkrsUnite]

@NRVstrike After all this back and forth, I'm still not clear on what exactly your objectives are... There's been plenty of discussion of theory and ideals, but what are you looking for from the people on this forum? Can you give me the main bullet points?

I'm arguing in general against the cutback of hours which results in lost wages for workers as well as an intensification of labor productivity for those who's hours are not cut. My first post on this thread was to express support for the workers filing for unemployment as a means to counteract Target's efforts at reducing the income of workers affected.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

We are not spot corp. please contact spot directly.
Contact Us - https://contactus.target.com/

 

[TargetWrkrsUnite]

We are not spot corp. please contact spot directly.

There sure is a lot of justification for spot's actions

 

[HiddenPenguin]

So... in terms of actions...? You've talked about organizing people. To do what exactly?

If you're just looking for a group to commiserate with and encourage each other, that's fine. But that is not the impression I got from reading your posts... and if this discussion is going to continue, you should really clarify that.

 

[HRLady]

It also says 29.5 hours in the attachment, but you felt the need to point that out separately in your post. Why point out 29.5 hours separately, but not the 12 months of employment?

Because a lot of other places don't give out full-time benefits at just 29.5 hours so I wanted to clarify that part for any TMs who were not aware of it.

Would you prefer that I be so repetitive as to type out the entire thing above the attachment with same information? Would that make me seem less suspicious to you?

Honestly, if I was really trying to hide anything, I wouldn't have included an attachment with more details.

 

[TargetWrkrsUnite]

So... in terms of actions...? You've talked about organizing people. To do what exactly?

If you're just looking for a group to commiserate with and encourage each other, that's fine. But that is not the impression I got from reading your posts... and if this discussion is going to continue, you should really clarify that.

As a general principle it is important for workers to be organized for their interests as workers, that can assume the form of a union if folks want to be more formal, or it could be an ideological commitment to one another that doesn't require a formal union. The point being is that workers acting together is more powerful in realizing the interest of workers than being isolated as individuals and going through HR (which is easier for Target to control). As to what would a group of organized workers would do well that depends on what workers want, maybe they want better terms of employment, maybe they want more control in the operations of the store, that's up for workers to decide in a democratic fashion.

 

[NPC]

As a general principle it is important for workers to be organized for their interests as workers, that can assume the form of a union if folks want to be more formal, or it could be an ideological commitment to one another that doesn't require a formal union. The point being is that workers acting together is more powerful in realizing the interest of workers than being isolated as individuals and going through HR (which is easier for Target to control). As to what would a group of organized workers would do well that depends on what workers want, maybe they want better terms of employment, maybe they want more control in the operations of the store, that's up for workers to decide in a democratic fashion.

What a long winded way of saying "we want to unionize."

 

[HiddenPenguin]

And yet...

I got problems with unions, not looking to join or make one.

 

[TargetWrkrsUnite]

And yet...

Yea mainstream unions are largely garbage, they prop up labor bureaucrats who make tons more than the workers they are suppose to represent, oftentimes the unions are more concerned with maintaining peaceful relations with businesses and don't represent the interests of rank and file workers. I share a lot of the same criticisms workers have towards unions. That's not the same thing as rank and file workers collaborating together and forming grassroots organization, that can be done without voting in a union, without forcing dues on workers, etc. Organizing doesn't necessarily mean unionizing and considering the NLRA applies to workers regardless if they are in are union or not I don't see much of a need for forming a formal union.

 

[HRLady]

I'm not assuming you had some dark, ulterior motive or anything. It just seemed as though you were treating the average hours as the most important thing. And it is, but only for people who've been working at Target for 12 months.

I'd wager quite a few people would see what you had written and overlook the 12 month part in the picture, then wonder why they aren't getting benefits.

Not all benefits require 12 months. There are certain part-time and full-time benefits that become available at just 6 months.

Isn't it one's own responsibility to read info thoroughly to avoid missing key things? 🙄

 

[Tessa120]

Target is pretty generous with the benefits. My hours are less than 29.5 but I'm getting vacation. And when I went on FMLA I got half my average pay for the entire time I was gone. I could have dental but I didn't expect any of these benefits and didn't sign up in time when I became eligible.

 

[HRZone]

we leave workers alone who want to be left alone.

Then why are you still here?

 

[HRZone]

.. and 12 months of employment. Don't leave that out. It's 12 months of employment and 29.5 hours on average for healthcare benefits.

I am actually super thankful for this. Considering a huge cost of health care is administration I don't mind that Target requires some time on the job before they give benefits.

Can you imagine if they gave benefits to those seasonals who job abandoned after two weeks? Our cost of health care would go way up.

You can argue for a shorter period before benefits but team leads enjoy this only having to wait 90 days.

 

[HiddenPenguin]

Oh @NRVstrike... you keep making this harder on yourself...

1.) I don't think there is a "faction" of TMs here trying to intimidate your "grass-roots organization" or "scaring people into silence." I think the majority here are basing their rebuttals on experience, and a sometimes harsh but realistic look at what trade-offs are necessary in a modern economy.

2.) The push-back you're experiencing is because no amount of passion (or vitriol) will change minds if your goals are underdeveloped. (...well that, and some of your phrasing rubs people the wrong way... like when you start throwing around the word "slavery" unnecessarily.)

3.) I would suggest running your newsletter through another editing cycle or two. For a monthly publication, there's plenty of time for cleaning things up. (typos, authors with different fonts, graphs with unlabeled axes, etc.)

4.) Try to take a step back and reconsider some of the feedback you've received. @SrTLall made some great points - you have taken this beyond "coworkers talking about economic issues" and this really isn't the appropriate platform. Should your newsletter be a "Target" newsletter? Much less a "Target Store #xxxx" newsletter?

 

[Flow Warrior]

As a general principle it is important for workers to be organized for their interests as workers, that can assume the form of a union if folks want to be more formal, or it could be an ideological commitment to one another that doesn't require a formal union. The point being is that workers acting together is more powerful in realizing the interest of workers than being isolated as individuals and going through HR (which is easier for Target to control). As to what would a group of organized workers would do well that depends on what workers want, maybe they want better terms of employment, maybe they want more control in the operations of the store, that's up for workers to decide in a democratic fashion.

I am of the general opinion, you don't understand economy of scale or the fact that most unions fail to change anything for those at the bottom of the rung. And I honestly feel you are here because you believe a union will solve your problems.

It won't.