Former Target employees are suing the company for discrimination, citing a company document that was distributed to managers with racist reminders that not all Hispanics eat tacos and burritos, or wear sombreros. The suit claims Target gave its warehouse managers a document entitled, "Organization Effectiveness, Employee and Labor Relations Multi-Cultural Tips," the document had six talking points ranging from burritos to sombreros addressing how to manage Hispanic employees. According to the suit, the Multi-Cultural training document stated :
a. Food: not everyone eats tacos and burritos;b. Music: not everyone dances to salsa;"We're not surprised by Target handing out such insensitive material," Director of Special Projects Aly Waddy said, "I've spoken to hundreds of Target workers, most of whom have claimed to be discriminated against in some way. We also saw tremendous racial discrimination by managers in Valley Stream against West Indian workers. So sadly, it's not a surprise they'd put out such a tactless document."
c. Dress: not everyone wears a sombrero;
d. Mexicans (lower education level, some may be undocumented);
e. Cubans (Political refugees, legal status, higher education level); and
f. They may say 'OK, OK' and pretend to understand, when they do not, just to save face.
The document comes at a time where Target's new marketing strategy actually targets hispanic and latinos. "We are going to source dominant presentations of Latino and Hispanic merchandise through the entire store," Target chief executive officer Gregg Steinhafel told MPR News in May. "It's a big effort that we have internally to really stretch ourselves and jump way out in front." With racist management tips like these, Target shows one face on how they really view Hispanics, while the other side salivates in greed to take advantage of our countries fastest growing demographic. UFCW Local 1500 shined the national spotlight on the working conditions at Target two-years ago when Target was found guilty of violating federal labor laws in a Union election with our union. Whether it's at big box retailers like Walmart, Target or Fast-Food establishments like Burger King, Wendy's and McDonald's, workers are fighting back against unfair wages, dreadful working conditions, ridiculous company policies, and discrimination like these "Multi-Cultural Tips". Workers at these companies want what we all have as Union members, respect at work and protection against discrimination. Join your union organizers by calling Aly Waddy at 516-422-1322 and help the campaign to Change Target at www.facebook.com/targetchange.
