This is sort of a big deal: Target Bends to Labor, Tells Contractors to Meet With Unions
Small Victories
[ 5 ] June 12, 2014 | Erik Loomis
This is sort of a big deal:
Target is introducing a potentially precedent-setting policy imposing new rules on companies it hires to clean its stores in the Twin Cities, the retail giants hometown. Its a step forward for union-backed efforts to force major corporations to raise standards for workers they dont directly employ.
According to a Target (TGT) memo that the labor group Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha provided to Businessweek, Targets Twin Cities janitorial vendors will be required not only to comply with federal and Minnesota labor laws but also to give workers the option of at least one day off each week; establish safety committees and let employees choose half the members; and invite unions to meet at least once a year with management.
Most significantly, the document instructs each vendorunless released from the obligation at Targets discretionto reach deals with labor groups that want to represent their workers. According to the memo, such deals should dictate terms and conditions of employment (making life easier for workers) but they must prohibit economic interference with Targets operations by labor groups (making life easier for management).
In other words, Targetwhose U.S. store workforce is 100 percent union freeis telling companies that want to clean its Twin Cities buildings to make nice with unions.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-12/target-bends-to-labor-tells-contractors-to-meet-with-unions
We shouldnt overplay thisTarget is not becoming a union shop overnight and its a very limited agreement where Target still has most of the power. But the precedent matters. Target has been forced to retreat in an era when we rarely see corporations do anything but crush organized labor.
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2014/06/small-victories