TARGET JUMPS ON CITIZENS UNITED BANDWAGON

Washington, D.C.-- Here is one more good reason union folk should not shop at big box retail outlets.  On Sunday August 1, we learned that The Human Rights Campaign placed a full-page ad in the Minneapolis Star Tribune asking Target and Best Buy to make it right, after both companies contributed a total of $250,000 to the Independent Expenditure Committee MN Forward.

MN Forward supports anti-equality gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Tom Emmer’s anti-equality views are clear and he is associated with a group that calls for death and violence toward gay people.  Target, the retail giant based in Minnesota, just became one of the very first companies to take advantage of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision allowing unlimited corporate cash in elections.  This is quite unexpected and perplexing because Target usually scores well on the HRC Corporate Equality Index survey each year. 

Tom Emmer, a far-right Republican who supports Arizona's draconian immigration law also wants to abolish the minimum wage. Are you listening all you Target salespeople?  Emmer is a hater and a divider plain and simple and has no business occupying the residence of a governor's mansion. Does Target think consumers are stupid? Does Target think customers and working families won't care? They're wrong: We do care, and we need to let them know that we want Target— and all corporations— out of our elections.

The stakes are much higher than one candidate and one company. Other CEOs are in "wait-and-see" mode following the Citizens United decision, according to a former Federal Trade Commission counsel quoted on NPR the other day.  If corporations have more influence, they're going to continue to rig the system to create even larger profits for their CEOs at the expense of taxpayers, labor unions, environmentalists and civil rights advocates.

If common sense doesn't prevail here, this will just be the tip of the iceberg. Other corporations will learn that they can pour money into elections to buy the outcome they want— without paying a price with their customers or shareholders.  See related story posted yesterday.

We all knew Citizens United would benefit candidates who stand up for corporate CEOs instead of everyday working families. But you wouldn't expect a company like Target and Best Buy to jump in and try to buy an election so quickly. After all, Target made its name by being thought of as the more progressive store in the wake of numerous WalMart and Sam's Club scandals.

That's why union members should follow the lead of the progressive actions of groups like Human Rights Campaign and the Alliance for a Better Minnesota. This is one of those times when you should spend wisely and in your own best interest-- and that means no Target shopping until further notice.  Be union, buy union. 

Send a message to Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel telling him that you're not going to shop at Target unless they stop trying to buy elections. You can contact the retail giant here and tell them what you think.