AFT Urges Target CEO to Oppose ICE Operations in Minneapolis

Minneapolis

AFT President Randi Weingarten has addressed a letter to Michael Fiddelke, who has recently taken on the role of CEO at Target, urging the company to advocate for the removal of ICE from Minnesota.

“Our members are not only workers and consumers, they are long-term investors with a profound stake in Target’s future,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Our urgent request is that Mr. Fiddelke—for the sake of the company he now leads, its customers and the state where it is headquartered—clearly states that Target wants U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of Minnesota now. Moments of transition are also moments of opportunity, and this is an important one for Target.”

The 1.8 million AFT members—educators, nurses and health professionals, public employees and retirees—participate in public pension funds with at least $4 trillion in assets. Those funds directly own nearly 7 million shares of Target stock and have billions more in indirect exposure. AFT members also shop at Target for school supplies; teachers alone spend an estimated $3.4 billion on U.S. school supplies annually.

In a letter dated February 1, Weingarten has requested a face-to-face meeting with Fiddelke to address Target’s lack of response concerning ICE’s sustained operations in Minneapolis, following incidents involving the fatalities of two residents by ICE and Border Patrol agents.

Weingarten argues that joining a collective statement from 60 businesses urging de-escalation is insufficient and fails to demonstrate true leadership in ending ICE's presence in Minnesota. She emphasizes that Target's ambivalence could threaten its standing with the immigrant consumer spending market, valued at $1.7 trillion, due to ICE's actions against immigrant populations.

“Target appears to be extremely vulnerable to extensive brand damage and human capital consequences as a result of its association with ICE and failure to clearly address the crisis caused by ICE’s presence in Minnesota, particularly in Minneapolis and St. Paul,” Weingarten writes in her letter. “I would like to meet as soon as possible to discuss how Target can effectively protect its brand and our members’ investments in this unacceptable situation.”

Weingarten highlights that these concerns emerge as Target has reversed some of its commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, prompting a backlash and a decline in both store traffic and stock prices.

“The AFT executive council passed a resolution to recognize the concerns of the civil rights, faith and community activists who are trying to get Target to recommit to its diversity initiative,” she writes. “We would like to see Target’s incoming CEO address both issues.”

The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.