Archived Unionize

[mrknownothing]

Sounds a little scary to me. Target already has its own bank, its own credit union, its own health clinics, its own little Bullseye shop for tms to purchase clothing. Next thing you know they'll be building little tract houses on the land surrounding the stores to house the tm's. Then we could all live and shop in our own little Targetland and visit our friends while we stand in line waiting for our paychecks to be handed out by the Boss. Sounds a lot like "the company store" back in the 30's!

They might as well start their own country lol.

 

[PullMeBackIn]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/01/golden-parachutes-21-ceos-landed-100m-plus/

Yeah, so Bob Ulrich made $160+ million last year from his "golden parachute" from Target. How many employees does Target have? Think of how much that $160 million could have done for team members.

The somewhat ironic thing is that Target fights EVERY.SINGLE.UNEMPLOYMENT claim which they don't even have to pay out of their own pocket directly (indirectly through potentially increased unemployment insurance premiums) and yet they give their outgoing CEO $160+ million dollars. How can we fight his unemployment claim?

 

[hatemyjob]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/01/golden-parachutes-21-ceos-landed-100m-plus/

Yeah, so Bob Ulrich made $160+ million last year from his "golden parachute" from Target. How many employees does Target have? Think of how much that $160 million could have done for team members.

The somewhat ironic thing is that Target fights EVERY.SINGLE.UNEMPLOYMENT claim which they don't even have to pay out of their own pocket directly (indirectly through potentially increased unemployment insurance premiums) and yet they give their outgoing CEO $160+ million dollars. How can we fight his unemployment claim?

$160M isn't enough to help low wage TMs. If you distributed the entire $160M to 200k TMs with the lowest wages, that would be only an extra $15.38 per week per TM.

Feel free to check my math, I could be wrong.

 

[melvin]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/01/golden-parachutes-21-ceos-landed-100m-plus/

Yeah, so Bob Ulrich made $160+ million last year from his "golden parachute" from Target. How many employees does Target have? Think of how much that $160 million could have done for team members.

The somewhat ironic thing is that Target fights EVERY.SINGLE.UNEMPLOYMENT claim which they don't even have to pay out of their own pocket directly (indirectly through potentially increased unemployment insurance premiums) and yet they give their outgoing CEO $160+ million dollars. How can we fight his unemployment claim?

Hey, he "earned" every single penny of that.

Job creators always earn their money. Others need to just be grateful for what they are given. Heck, for many of you, you aren't even "supposed" to get enough hours to subsist.

 

[melvin]

$160M isn't enough to help low wage TMs. If you distributed the entire $160M to 200k TMs with the lowest wages, that would be only an extra $15.38 per week per TM.

Feel free to check my math, I could be wrong.

Which would come to, what, $650 per year, which would pay for a month's rent and some food for many of you. Of course, if you simply lived within your means and downgraded to a tar paper shack, stopped insisting on eating actual food and converted to a Ramen noodles-only diet and stopped getting sick, you wouldn't have such daunting expenses.

I've so had it with you demanding, spoiled rotten people who expect to be given these lavish benefits and lifestyles by our job creators.

 

[PullMeBackIn]

$160M isn't enough to help low wage TMs. If you distributed the entire $160M to 200k TMs with the lowest wages, that would be only an extra $15.38 per week per TM.

Feel free to check my math, I could be wrong.

It might not be enough but it would be a good start for the company to show they actually care about their team members beyond giving us peanut butter and jelly in the breakroom once a month for "team building."

 

[redeye58]

Of course, if you simply lived within your means and downgraded to a tar paper shack, stopped insisting on eating actual food and converted to a Ramen noodles-only diet and stopped getting sick, you wouldn't have such daunting expenses.

I'd laugh if it weren't so close to the truth for a few TMs...

 

[Target Annie]

Of course, if you simply lived within your means and downgraded to a tar paper shack, stopped insisting on eating actual food and converted to a Ramen noodles-only diet and stopped getting sick, you wouldn't have such daunting expenses.

I've so had it with you demanding, spoiled rotten people who expect to be given these lavish benefits and lifestyles by our job creators.

I think I am going to walk away from the stupid mortgage and move into my car - I can live in the parking lot at Target, oh maybe that wouldn't be brand. Well Wally World might accept me in their parking lot and I can take a sink bath before coming into work at the bullseye. That might be closer to living within my means.

 

[hatemyjob]

Of course, if you simply lived within your means and downgraded to a tar paper shack, stopped insisting on eating actual food and converted to a Ramen noodles-only diet and stopped getting sick, you wouldn't have such daunting expenses.

I've so had it with you demanding, spoiled rotten people who expect to be given these lavish benefits and lifestyles by our job creators.

Several of the "Legend in their own mind" posters here actually believe this. They also seem to think that ass-kissing and kool-aid drinking will get them promoted to STL within 6 months.

 

[nib]

No degree of kissing up will get anyone to STL in 6 months, well, unless you have your Masters or Doctorate. Problem is that Target doesn't cover those degrees until you are atleast and ETL or above

Several of the "Legend in their own mind" posters here actually believe this. They also seem to think that ass-kissing and kool-aid drinking will get them promoted to STL within 6 months.

 

[nib]

every little bit helps! I'm sure everyone would be happy to have those 16$ a week!

$160M isn't enough to help low wage TMs. If you distributed the entire $160M to 200k TMs with the lowest wages, that would be only an extra $15.38 per week per TM.

Feel free to check my math, I could be wrong.

 

[melvin]

Several of the "Legend in their own mind" posters here actually believe this. They also seem to think that ass-kissing and kool-aid drinking will get them promoted to STL within 6 months.

I'm not particularly bothered when it is someone in their late teens or early twenties who is naive enough to believe it. It's a bit more disturbing when you have folks in their late twenties and beyond who actually believe it when they're strung along.

Then again, I think these are some of the same folks I've interacted with who genuinely believe they can be the next Bill Gates if they just work hard enough. And they believe that because, just like with their Target careers, someone has told them it is so. It must be true. After all, those folks above them certainly wouldn't have any reason to feed them lines of BS, would they?

 

[commiecorvus]

This should be interesting.
Two of the stores in Canada have union representation and Spot is refusing to talk to them.

Brentwood Town Centre Zellers employees are worried Target Canada will not honour their union agreement when it takes over the location.

The U.S.-based retail company is taking over more than 100 Zellers stores throughout Canada and turning them into Target locations starting in 2013, including the two Zellers locations in Burnaby.

The 120 workers at the Burnaby Zellers are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers' Union, Local 1518.

The union has taken the succession issue to the Labour Relations Board, according to Andy Neufeld, spokesperson for the local.

"On Oct. 4, we sent Target a letter saying the collective agreement had expired and we looked forward to setting up negotiations to renew the agreement with them and hoped to have a cooperative, positive experience," he said.

The company responded by telling the union it did not recognize the employees' successorship, according to Neufeld.

"We, at that point, filed a formal claim with the Labour Relations Board to have a successorship applied to the collective agreement that exists for the Zellers employees so that the new owners will then have to honour the terms of that collective agreement," he said.

Here's the link to the rest of the article.

http://www.burnabynow.com/business/Union+workers+worried+about+Target+takeover/5858372/story.html

 

[AmICrazy]

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.

Our POG TL says that at the power plant where her husband works that one day they just stud around for 1.5 hours, as they had to wait for someone from building services to come and change a burned out light bulb. Union rules would not allow someone from operations to change the bulb, which only took less than 5 minutes.

 

[commiecorvus]

Our POG TL says that at the power plant where her husband works that one day they just stud around for 1.5 hours, as they had to wait for someone from building services to come and change a burned out light bulb. Union rules would not allow someone from operations to change the bulb, which only took less than 5 minutes.

Yep, there are often some really stupid rules.
I'm sure this one falls under the it has something to do with electricity, so only the guy with electricity certification training can handle it
But if they went in and spent the time to work on the contract it, they fix that.
Just nobody is willing to rock the boat or spend the time, because the minute you change one little thing the bosses use that to try and change a bunch of other more important things.

Side note cause I'm such a child -- I haven't been able to to stud around for 1.5 hours without a nap afterwords in a long time.

 

[nib]

well said

The point of this discussion isn't that Unions are "perfect" it's that they are much better than without having one. And while some Unions may only achieve 25 hours a week at some times we all know that some employees outside of unions can be knocked all the way down to 10 hours or less a week! There have been several very convincing arguments on here about why unions are good things, maybe read some of those posts.

 

[nib]

The unions in Canada must stay strong and fight to the bitter end to save their union rights and protections.

This should be interesting.
Two of the stores in Canada have union representation and Spot is refusing to talk to them.



Here's the link to the rest of the article.

http://www.burnabynow.com/business/Union+workers+worried+about+Target+takeover/5858372/story.html

 

[Target Annie]

Side note cause I'm such a child -- I haven't been able to to stud around for 1.5 hours without a nap afterwords in a long time.

I laughed out loud - thanks! Well done

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Wake up, Canada. The rude awakening has occurred. Sorry.

 

[redeye58]

Side note cause I'm such a child -- I haven't been able to to stud around for 1.5 hours without a nap afterwords in a long time.

...and a dose of Viagra...

 

[nib]

Unions are the way to go, it's too bad the low and middle income employees don't educate themselves about it. That's why some people get all the perks, fear of unionization. everyone should get quarterly raises, also cost of living, also yearly review increases. that's what unions, and fear of unionization lead to. Hopefully everyone will wake up to those wonderful realities someday.

The unions in Canada must stay strong and fight to the bitter end to save their union rights and protections.

 

[Parker51]

Hate to break it you guys, the work we do I could train a 7 year old to do...

No, you couldn't. A 7 year old could not do this job reliably and safely long-term because he does not have the maturity, impulse control, developed moral values and conscience, physical strength and coordination, discipline, and work-ethic of an adult. Team members have value to the company beyond those of a 7 year old, and to argue otherwise is specious, even bad-faith debate.

Even among adults, the argument that "anyone" could work at Target is not true, based on past threads on this forum that trying to hire "anyone" usually winds up with unreliable, untrainable people who almost immediately quit, abandon the job, or otherwise get fired due to getting caught stealing or committing other serious misconduct.

 

[commiecorvus]

No, you couldn't. A 7 year old could not do this job reliably and safely long-term because he does not have the maturity, impulse control, developed moral values and conscience, physical strength and coordination, discipline, and work-ethic of an adult. Team members have value to the company beyond those of a 7 year old, and to argue otherwise is specious, even bad-faith debate.

Even among adults, the argument that "anyone" could work at Target is not true, based on past threads on this forum that trying to hire "anyone" usually winds up with unreliable, untrainable people who almost immediately quit, abandon the job, or otherwise get fired due to getting caught stealing or committing other serious misconduct.

This and this again.

Anybody who has read Nickle and Dimed knows this.
If you haven't I highly recommend it. http://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Dimed-Not-Getting-America/dp/0805063897
Spot putting a list of places to apply for Medicaid in the 'benefits' is yet another example of just how little they think of their TM.
The fact that many of our colleges have to work 2 or 3 jobs to get by makes this even worse.

 

[StateofTarget]

No, you couldn't. A 7 year old could not do this job reliably and safely long-term because he does not have the maturity, impulse control, developed moral values and conscience, physical strength and coordination, discipline, and work-ethic of an adult. Team members have value to the company beyond those of a 7 year old, and to argue otherwise is specious, even bad-faith debate.

Even among adults, the argument that "anyone" could work at Target is not true, based on past threads on this forum that trying to hire "anyone" usually winds up with unreliable, untrainable people who almost immediately quit, abandon the job, or otherwise get fired due to getting caught stealing or committing other serious misconduct.

To be fair to him, I think what he is saying is that Target requires zero work history/education. Even high school drop outs can get hired.

Obviously this means TMs should not be paid a huge salary, but at the same time I don't think Target is justified in going way out of their way to screw everyone on pay/benefits as they have been doing the past few years. IMO, killing off the specialist jobs (one of the few avenues for a TM to get full time and move up), was cold hearted and totally wrong. Basically they are going out of their way to make a bad situation worse by eliminating every avenue TMs have to better their job.

Honestly, the reason I jumped ship is because I got the message loud and clear. What is the message Target is telling us? "We want this to be a temp job for teenagers/college students/retired people. If you don't fall in that category, then move on." Honestly, even for TLs now this job is only viable for teens/students/retired people. (honestly, with the health care cuts, maybe not even retired people anymore)

I have only spent a week at my new job, and guys I can tell you right now it is like night and day. If you are over 20 and not a college student start looking for a way out now. It is clear that there is no longer a future at Target. They have cut every avenue of advancement. Specialists jobs are gone, TL jobs are so few now you will be waiting years for a vacancy to open and when it does you probably won't get it, and now you no longer even have health insurance.

 

[nib]

To be fair to the people who don't have much education or work history, it's hard to get those things if you don't have a perfect job record, a long list of education/degrees, a perfect credit and criminal history, etc. It's also hard to get AA or BA or MBA degrees if you don't offer your lower employees tuition reiumbursement. Because of how our society works, everyone who is down, gets kept down. Everyone who has money or friends in high places, etc, get's pushed to the top of the chain.
To be clear, this is our entire society's problem, specifically the way Big Business and all of corporate america treats their employees, this is hardly a target only dilemna. I completely agree with you that getting rid of the specialist positions was a terrible decision.

To be fair to him, I think what he is saying is that Target requires zero work history/education. Even high school drop outs can get hired.

Obviously this means TMs should not be paid a huge salary, but at the same time I don't think Target is justified in going way out of their way to screw everyone on pay/benefits as they have been doing the past few years. IMO, killing off the specialist jobs (one of the few avenues for a TM to get full time and move up), was cold hearted and totally wrong. Basically they are going out of their way to make a bad situation worse by eliminating every avenue TMs have to better their job.

Honestly, the reason I jumped ship is because I got the message loud and clear. What is the message Target is telling us? "We want this to be a temp job for teenagers/college students/retired people. If you don't fall in that category, then move on." Honestly, even for TLs now this job is only viable for teens/students/retired people. (honestly, with the health care cuts, maybe not even retired people anymore)

I have only spent a week at my new job, and guys I can tell you right now it is like night and day. If you are over 20 and not a college student start looking for a way out now. It is clear that there is no longer a future at Target. They have cut every avenue of advancement. Specialists jobs are gone, TL jobs are so few now you will be waiting years for a vacancy to open and when it does you probably won't get it, and now you no longer even have health insurance.