Target forces employees to watch this anti-union propaganda video

[Paulappaul]

Gawker obtained a training video (http://gawker.com/5811371/heres-the-cheesy-anti+union-video-all-target-employees-must-endure) that Target uses to warn its employees about the danger of joining a union.

The 13-milute video titled “Think Hard Before You Sign” is hosted by Doug and Maria, two actors posing as Target employees.


“We’re a target because we’re a threat to unions,” Doug claims. “The unions that represent grocery store workers.”


“When we take business away from unionized grocery stores that means they need fewer employees,” Maria continues.


“And fewer grocery store employees means fewer union members. And fewer members? Well that’s a problem for the union business. That’s right, I said business. Union business,” Doug adds.


“With a union you no longer have your own voice. Have a great suggestion? You can’t take it directly to your manager. You have to go through the union layers. Need help with a problem? Same thing. Someone else will do the talking for you. And there’s no guarantee you’ll like what they have to say. Guarantees. Guarantees and promises. That’s something else you might hear from a union. Unions often make big promises about wages and benefit increases if the team member will only sign their card. Those are promises they can’t keep,” Maria insists.


“The risk of getting a union with out a vote, big promises that can’t be kept, pressure on guests not to shop at our stores, for all those reasons and a whole lot more please think hard before you sign any card or petition,” Maria concludes.


A complete transcript of the video is available here (http://www.groups.xorte.com/Transcript-of-Target-anti-union-DVD-training-video-shown-to-all-stores-employees,t,56418,8.html).
Watch this video from Target via Gawker, uploaded June 13, 2011.



Original Link (http://gawker.com/5811371/heres-the-cheesy-anti+union-video-all-target-employees-must-endure)

[Robocommie]

Hah, yeah like these problems don't exist at all when you work for Target.

"We know you think this job is bullshit anyway, but we're going to condescend to you about this being like a family, a learning, sharing, loving experience. Also, even though you know we want to pay you as little as we can get away with, you should listen to what we think about your attempts to fight for better conditions! We're family!"

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Walmart has been doing this for years. Target has always been Walmart drenched in red coloring.

[La Peur Rouge]

I had to watch a video like this when I was hired at my current job, not Target, but the script was very similar.

The guy who played the union recruiter in the video always acted really shady and looked like a "villain", while the two store employees kept smiling and repeating the fact that unions make the world a terrible place, and that the company is like family to you, always ready to listen to your opinions, they ended saying something like "we're not against unions, but we really want you to think hard before making a choice like joining an organization that wants to take your money/not allow you to have opinions/etc.", I wanted to puke after I saw it.

I think Robocommie has it dead on.


"We know you think this job is bullshit anyway, but we're going to condescend to you about this being like a family, a learning, sharing, loving experience. Also, even though you know we want to pay you as little as we can get away with, you should listen to what we think about your attempts to fight for better conditions! We're family!"

[#FF0000]

Oh hey I actually watched this video.

Target was probably one of the creepiest places I ever worked because they really really really push the whole WE ARE A FAMILY AND A TEAM thing on you. There is a Target magazine that all of the managers subscribe to. There is a Target card to shop at target with. There is a Target Mental Health hotline. I am not joking.

[Robocommie]

Oh hey I actually watched this video.

Target was probably one of the creepiest places I ever worked because they really really really push the whole WE ARE A FAMILY AND A TEAM thing on you. There is a Target magazine that all of the managers subscribe to. There is a Target card to shop at target with. There is a Target Mental Health hotline. I am not joking.

Yeesh. Only retail job I ever worked was Toys 'R Us, and it was bullshit, but at least it wasn't creepy.

[Psy]

Hah, yeah like these problems don't exist at all when you work for Target.

"We know you think this job is bullshit anyway, but we're going to condescend to you about this being like a family, a learning, sharing, loving experience. Also, even though you know we want to pay you as little as we can get away with, you should listen to what we think about your attempts to fight for better conditions! We're family!"

I find it funny they say the union would hold individual workers back while Target workers are not on commission so what incentive would workers have to cross train in other departments other then Target forces them to?

[Catmatic Leftist]

The video claims that not one of their workers have ever chosen to be represented by a union. I should take a job at Target and get represented by a union just to troll them so they have to spend extra resources making a new anti-union video. :D

[Property Is Robbery]

The video claims that not one of their workers have ever chosen to be represented by a union. I should take a job at Target and get represented by a union just to troll them so they have to spend extra resources making a new anti-union video. :DI'm pretty sure they meant every Target employee at a given branch.

[chegitz guevara]

UPS did something like that to us back in the 80s. It's so common that it's not surprising.

[MattShizzle]

Someone would have to be pretty naive to believe that. I also liked some of the comments on how the actors in the video can forget ever being able to join the SAG.

[praxis1966]

There is a Target Mental Health hotline. I am not joking.

I can't decide which is worse, what you're talking about or the fact that when my partner still worked at Citibank, her managers were constantly pressuring her to open an account with them supposedly for the purposes of direct deposit.

Anyway, this sort of thing isn't really all that new. I've worked at a couple of chain grocery stores, Winn Dixie and Albertson's specifically, and they both had the same sort of shit. There were even posters in the break room with step by step instructions on what to do if someone approaches you about union organizing, which included reporting the person to your supervisor. How these fuckers avoided getting hit with ULP complaints constantly is beyond me.

[Rusty Shackleford]

So i was talking to one of the managers at the store i work at. (The in store managers at my store vary, some are really relaxed and some are uptight. this one was relaxed) and i brought up the Target union vote and she said "yeah the managers there treat everyone like shit and its really creepy apparently. She was talking about how if a customer comes up to a cashier or a worker with a complaint and is really angry, managers will just walk away and let the customer take out their rage on the worker when the worker has no power to resolve the issue.