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Teachers union launches back-to-school boycott of Target over ICE stance
The American Federation of Teachers is urging members to avoid Target this back-to-school season, accusing the retailer of staying silent on immigration enforcement operations near its Minnesota headquarters. The union's campaign has drawn criticism from education advocates and a call for federal scrutiny.
The American Federation of Teachers is urging its 1.8 million members and their families to boycott Target during the back-to-school shopping season, accusing the retail giant of failing to condemn immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, where the company is headquartered.
AFT President Randi Weingarten announced the campaign over the weekend, saying the union gave Target ample time to stand with the communities where it operates. The union launched the effort Wednesday after sending letters to Target CEO Michael Fiddelke in February and March. A dedicated website, «Shop Smart, Not Target,» directs families to alternative shopping options.
«We gave Target ample time to stand with the communities in which they operate and help their neighbors, but its silence about federal immigration abuses has been deafening,» Weingarten said in a statement. She cited the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renée Good and described masked ICE agents as terrorizing families in communities and schools.
The Department of Homeland Security rejected the union's characterization of ICE operations. An ICE spokesperson said the agency enforces federal immigration laws and protects public safety, adding that Target is not a sensitive location. The spokesperson called the union's statement a false narrative designed to demonize officers who are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults and an 8,000% increase in death threats.
«ICE is not going to schools to arrest children — we are protecting children,» the spokesperson said. «Criminals are no longer able to hide in America's schools to avoid arrest.» The agency said officers conduct targeted operations to apprehend and remove aliens in the country unlawfully and that those placed in removal proceedings receive due process.
The boycott has drawn criticism from education advocates. Corey DeAngelis, a Heritage Foundation research fellow, said the union's use of pension influence against Target raises fiduciary concerns and warrants a federal investigation. He noted that AFT members' pension funds own 6.79 million shares of Target stock, which Weingarten has leveraged to pressure the company.
«This partisan war on Target smells like a breach of fiduciary duty,» DeAngelis said. «The Department of Justice should open an investigation into the AFT using their pension funds and political influence to bully companies into falling in line with their socialist agenda.»
Sonja Shaw, a candidate for California superintendent of public instruction and Chino Valley Unified School District board president, said labor leaders are prioritizing political power while students struggle academically. She pointed to California assessment results showing 48.8% of students met English language arts standards and 37.3% met math standards.
«Teachers' unions are supposed to fight for teachers,» Shaw said. «Instead, union leadership has become a political machine obsessed with money, power and influence while our children continue to fall behind.»
This is not the first confrontation between the AFT and Target. The union's March resolution explicitly called the effort a boycott and urged members to avoid the retailer until the company takes a public stance on immigration enforcement. DeAngelis supplied a chart tracking Target's closing share price against several AFT actions, including Weingarten's letters and the boycott resolution.
