Manny Lovio’s little stack of papers may be the only proof he has that at one time, his career at Target meant something.
Some of the letters are from the principal and a teacher at Richardson Elementary School, thanking him for contributions he made in 2005 for several school events. Another letter is from a local Marine Corps rep thanking him for toy donations.
If you’ve been inside any Target store, thank-you letters from schools and community organizations are a normal sight, usually displayed in a glass case near the restrooms or customer service. As an executive team member, Lovio says, he chose what donation requests to approve or reject.
On Nov. 12, 2005, he was unexpectedly called into the store manager’s office.
According to Lovio, after 26 years with Target—without any discipline problems, until the very end—he was asked to quit. When he refused, he was fired. He was escorted to his desk to clean out his belongings and then guided out of the store in front of co-workers and customers.
Lovio says that he was in a state of shock. He’d lost his career, which started in 1983 when Target first came to town and he got a part-time summer job there.
“It was humiliating,” says Lovio.
He took the job right after he’d graduated from San Manuel High School, when he moved to Tucson to go to Pima Community College. Slowly, he moved up at work, starting as a minimum-wage employee and eventually becoming a salaried store executive, sometimes working 60-to-80-hour weeks.
“At one time, I was the only executive who got graded for doing an almost perfect job,” he says.
He helped open the Target at El Con Mall and was sent to other stores to help when certain departments weren’t performing correctly. His reviews all along were either excellent or outstanding, he says.
A year after being fired, he filed a discrimination complaint with the Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, noting that he was replaced by a younger employee who was white. Lovio is Mexican-American.
The AG’s office responded that a review determined there wouldn’t be an investigation into the firing, although the letter stated that he had the right to sue. Lovio says he went to see a lawyer, but realized he could not afford legal action.
But shortly after his dismissal, his best friend at the company, Lavonne Beckford, was also fired. And over the last five years, other longtime employees he knew from his early days at Target were also forced to quit or were fired. The former co-workers started meeting with each other and sharing their stories.
They say they began to notice a pattern. Their group, mostly hired in the ’80s, had each been with the retail company for 20 years or more. Most of them were salaried executives, making more than $50,000 a year, sometimes even more. Besides the wages, the employees had full benefits, and most were eligible for up to five weeks of vacation.
“They could hire two or three people at the price they were paying us,” Lovio says.
At the Kirk-Bear Canyon Branch Library off Tanque Verde Road, Lovio’s former co-workers sit around a table in a community meeting room and share stories about how they were fired.
While several firings took place almost five years ago, others occurred just last year. Most have difficulty speaking about what happened. It didn’t take long for some to cry, while others raised their voices as they wondered why this happened to them.
Everyone in the room worked at Target for at least 20 years, and most of them had flawless employment records until about a year before they were fired.
“It was as if they were building a case against us,” Lovio says.
In the room, almost all of the ex-Target employees are African American or Mexican American. However, Lovio says he fervently believes that they were fired not because of race, but because of age and money.
“I had been there almost 26 years. I figured they were just blowing hot air. They even questioned the donations I made. I asked them to call the principal, but they didn’t,” Lovio says. “The store manager asked that I terminate myself. I’m sitting here thinking that all along in my life, I’ve been an example to my kids, trying to do the right thing. They accused me of stealing a $25 gift card. Why would I do that?”
As Lovio talks about the day he was fired, his voice tightens, as if he’s holding in his emotions, especially when he talks about his wife and kids. The experience changed his life, he says. He went from making $52,000 a year to $30,000. He and his family didn’t live a lavish life or live in a fancy neighborhood, he says, but the change in income created a huge financial stress.
All of the employees here worked with Lavonne Beckford, a former Target employee who filed a discrimination lawsuit against the retail company in 2008.
Beckford told the Tucson Weekly that her attorney instructed her not to comment regarding her case. The lawsuit continues to make its way through the U.S. District Court in Arizona, giving Beckford’s former co-workers hope for a little recourse—even if it’s just for Beckford.
Beckford’s lawsuit states that she started with the company in 1983 as a jewelry-department supervisor and was consistently promoted until she became a store executive. According to the lawsuit, she received excellent and outstanding review scores in her evaluations.
In 2006, a new manager started at the store where she worked. Beckford—who is African American—alleges that the new manager “discriminated against employees based on race and/or national origin”; she says she reported this to the company.
Afterward, the store manager allegedly began treating Beckford differently—following her around the store, questioning her about where she went to lunch, telephoning her during breaks to find out where she was, and telling her that she couldn’t eat lunch in her office or at the Target snack bar. Beckford was also allegedly told she could only enter and exit the store through the front doors.
Eventually, Beckford was fired on Jan. 2, 2007, for allowing a cashier to use her authorization number to void her own purchase. She claims she was actually fired because she complained about the store manager and discrimination.
According to a former Target manager, who asked that his name not be used because he now works as a store manager for a different big-box retailer in Tucson, Lovio and his former co-workers are right. Target is all about image, so getting rid of older employees is a good way to make room for younger executives. They look better, and the moves save money, he says.
The manager worked for the company for 21 years with Beckford and Lovio.
“Mostly, I saw that if you didn’t do or say things a certain way, as you got older and your pay increased, the feeling was that you were a problem,” he says.
During management meetings, the long-time employees identified as problems were called “blockers,” he says.
“It was understood that I could hire someone 10 years younger than these people, at half the pay, and they had college degrees. I’d sit during the management meetings, and we’d identify who is a ‘blocker’—which meant they needed to leave the company,” he says.
The former manager says layoffs or buyouts of long-time employees would have cost the company money, so instead, the corporation put pressure on the store managers.
“We were told to figure out how to get rid of these blockers that cost too much money,” he said.
José Garcia figures he was probably considered a blocker when he was fired from Target on Dec. 14, 2008, after working for the company for 21 years. He had just returned to work after taking a week off following his mother’s death.
“They got me at a time when I was at my lowest, after coming back from my mother’s funeral. I was depressed, sad, and I didn’t have any fight left in me,” Garcia says.
Before he was fired, his managers were putting pressure on Garcia to fire several subordinates, he says, but he refused and told them he preferred to do more coaching. When he got back to work after the week off, they told him he was being fired for having people work off the clock after 11 p.m., when employees leave the building and lock the doors for the night.
“‘We know you made somebody go and get some carts at 11 p.m.,’ they told me. I asked how they could prove that. I wanted to talk to the employee who reported it, but they wouldn’t let me, and they told me they had it on videotape, but they wouldn’t let me see it,” Garcia says.
However, it isn’t unusual at some stores for employees to get carts after 11 p.m., he says, because as workers and supervisors are leaving, they usually find several carts in the parking lot that other employees forgot to bring in.
“Nobody has ever told me, ‘You can’t do that,’ but they’ll find any little thing. … When they want you out, they’ll get you out,” he says.
When Target spokesperson Sarah Soriano was first contacted, she denied that Target was being sued for discrimination in Tucson, and said the company hadn’t been served. However, Soriano called back later and said she misspoke, confirming Target is in the midst of a lawsuit filed by Beckford.
“Unfortunately, I can’t comment on any litigation or any of these specific allegations,” Soriano says.
When asked if “blocker” is a word used by Target management to describe executive team leaders who’ve been identified as being with the company for too long, Soriano says it isn’t a term used in Target corporate culture.
“We take pride in our workforce and strictly forbid discrimination of any kind,” she says.
Soriano says the company has an open-door policy that encourages employees to talk to human resources staff members or even call the company’s hotline to make work complaints.
“We’re proud of our open-door policy,” Soriano says.
But according to other former Target employees, there is a common belief that calls to the hotline can lead to retaliation from store managers. Mary Mann says she considered calling the hotline after a supervisor, in front of co-workers, mentioned that Mann made $20 per hour and had five weeks of vacation.
“I firmly believe the hotline actually works, but only if you have a lot of employees calling about the same problem. If you have one person calling, a store manager is going to know,” Mann says.
Rather than get fired, Mann says she quit, just shy of her 21st anniversary with Target, after numerous write-ups. She was told she had left a back door unlocked when she ended her shift.
“I just quit. I knew what would happen next,” Mann says.
A few months later, Mann eventually found a job at Walmart, a retail giant better known for foreign-made bargains than taking care of its employees.
Mann says she’s aware of the reputation, but that working at Walmart has an upside. There are programs to help employees who may be having problems paying an electric bill, she says, and adds that there is company-wide recycling for everything, while at Target, there was only recycling for cardboard. She also thinks there’s a better system in place for employees to get promoted.
Still, Mann says, it’s like she’s starting all over again.
“We busted our asses to get to that $20 an hour. Nobody made it easy for me,” Mann says. “Now I’m making half the money, and with the economy, it’s very, very hard. I am almost 50 years old. I was making good money, and I always thought I’d retire working at Target. Now I have all this retail experience. People are afraid to hire you, afraid to have you start from the bottom, because they know you made more money before.”
Like Mann, Jeff Stehle was an hourly employee at Target making close to $20 an hour; he was close to his 20th anniversary with the company when he was fired. He had years of positive reviews, but during his last year, he began working for a new executive team leader who didn’t seem to like him much. Stehle is deaf, and he wonders if that was why the new team leader didn’t care for him, he says.
In December 2009, he was fired for unsatisfactory work performance based on previous write-ups. He says he never received such write-ups when he was supervised by Garcia and Lovio.
“I’m almost 40 years old, and I had been there a long time. I thought about using the hotline, but I was worried about being retaliated against. I didn’t want to be labeled a complainer,” Stehle says.
“Right now, the biggest pain is that I don’t make nearly as much money—a third less than what I (made at) Target. I had just bought a house a year and a half ago, and now I have no medical insurance, and I can’t afford to pay for it for my family. It is really painful.”
Sandy Klinetobe was fired in April 2009, and she’s still looking for a job. Klinetobe says other retail companies tell her she’s overqualified after working at Target for 23 years.
At 41, like Mann and Stehle, Klinetobe is starting all over again.
“I even called on old friends, but the thing was, three or four years ago, I could have called any of them and gotten a new job. Now they tell me, ‘I wish I could get you on, but we are not hiring. We’re trying to cut back,'” Klinetobe says.
There’s a little hope, however, with some new retail stores opening in Tucson. Klinetobe says she’s hoping to land at the new Burlington Coat Factory at El Con Mall. If that doesn’t happen, she’s thinking about going back to school—something she could have done right out of high school had she not chosen to work for Target, she says.
“I’ve been thinking of going to nursing school. I just don’t know how that will work for me financially. I went to Pima College at the time, but the wage increases, the good reviews and the compliments made me stay and work three times as hard,” Klinetobe says.
The year before she was fired, the company agreed to let her take time off when her back went out. The agreement was based on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act; she checked in with a corporate office to file required paperwork and make sure she could continue taking the leave when her back again locked up.
“Even though it was approved by corporate, I started getting called into the store manager’s office and asked about the leave and was told it was causing a strain on my co-workers. I thought to myself, ‘I shouldn’t be getting pulled into the office, especially if it was approved by Target. Why was I given such a hard time?'” Klinetobe asks.
Klinetobe says she was eventually fired for not locking the store door one night.
“I know I locked that door. I know everyone makes mistakes, because everyone is human, but when you specifically remember the couple that walked out in front of you, and you said good night, and you locked the door right behind them, you’re pretty sure you locked the door. If I could remember a detail like that, I just don’t believe I left the door unlocked,” Klinetobe says.
“I believe it was the medical-leave situation and that I stood up for myself.”
While his brother, Manny, was fired from Target, Robert Lovio continues to work there. Another brother and a sister also used to work for Target, but now work elsewhere.
“I stayed because I like it. It’s a good company. I got my degree in business law and criminal justice, and got a job at the courthouse in Florence for $12 an hour. I left Target, but I missed it, and after two weeks, I went back to making minimum wage. I was just really happy there,” Robert Lovio says.
Currently, he works at the Target at Irvington Road and Interstate 19, and he recognizes that talking to the press could lead to problems, especially since he’s had a few experiences within the last year that make him think he may eventually suffer the same fate as his brother.
He says he signed an agreement with his employer that says he can’t reveal financial information, so he can’t divulge his salary after working for the company for 26 years.
“I go to work and give 150 percent. I still love my job. I’m just not so sure if what is going on with people I’ve worked with for years is right. It doesn’t seem like it,” he says.
“Twenty-three of my 26 years were in logistics, and I opened up a lot of stores in Tucson. … And in the ’90s, I was the fixer: They’d send me in to fix processes that were broken or put the store on the right path. The company also sent me to Florida, Georgia, Texas and New Mexico to open stores and train people.”
He and his brother were even sent to corporate headquarters in Minneapolis to work on Spanish-language training materials to be used by Target all over the country. Those days of travel, however, began to wear him down, and he asked to stay put in Tucson.
After his dad passed away, he took three months off to help his mother adjust. He asked if he could go back to working the floor, which he was begrudgingly allowed to do. During that time, he says that one store executive told him that the district manager said, “Wow, Robert sure makes a lot of money. I could get two people for what he makes.”
Robert says he complained, and from there, things got weird. His first review after going back to the floor was an 80—not bad, he says. Then the next year it was a 78, and then last year, he got a 67.
“OK, I’ve never gotten written up. My review comes up, and I get 67. Really?” he asks, adding that overall, his team and the store received high marks.
Just in case, he says he’s documenting like mad and is being extremely careful, knowing that it doesn’t take much to get shown the door.
“I’m walking a fine line here, but I feel that while my salary may seem high, I’ve earned every last penny of that. I never had any bad reviews, never, and then they give me this review this last year. And I just didn’t think it was right. When I started talking to Lavonne (and) José, and I started looking at the number of people in the room, I said to myself, ‘Hell, no, we should talk to someone,'” he says.
“To me, it’s just an awful way to treat people who have given a lot to the company. It’s just wrong, the way they have treated them. I’ve been trying to be positive and come in and do 150 percent. But I’ve seen how this affects people.”
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2010.
My father had a similar situation when working for Denny’s. At Denny’s you were guaranteed a $.50 an hour raise each year you’ve been with the company (generous, huh?).My father had been with the company for several years but apparently he had reached a point when making $8.50 was too much so the managers were pressured to find a reason to fire him. He was cited for ‘improper placement of the garnish’ on a plate during the Tucson Gem Show rush and improper box folding when throwing empty boxes away as well as a couple very minor things that would have been laughable, if he wasn’t fired for them. Big corporations don’t value loyalty anymore, employees are expendable nowadays, they will either replace them with machines, the cheapest labor possible or send the job to Asia. This is why customer service is so bad nowadays, why bother?
China comes to USA…
Why might that be?
Reminds me of what happened to my father and his older coworkers when the mills closed in our hometown. He was 8 months shy of retirement age. He got not a penny for the 40+ years he’d worked without a day missed and wasn’t even eligible for Social Security yet. Who was going to hire a 61 year old man who’d one one job all his life except for army service in WWII?
Oh well, I won’t be shopping at Target anytime soon.
We could look at this a different way… companies evolve, expectations change (usually to be higher than in previous times), and a lot of time employees who aren’t able to evolve find themselves in the situation of relishing what they’ve done in past rather than focus on the future and delivering on the current expectations. Now, I am not sure on any of the situations named above, but I will say there usually are two sides to every story. I know at the company where I work, if I delivered the same work today as I delivered ten years ago, I’d be out of a job. Ive heard that Target is working on developing leaders, and so many of the “do-ers” who built their careers by knowing how to stock quickly or merchandise may not bring as much value added to the table. The best thing all of these people can do is get better prepared for the future, learn skills that merit a high wage, and move forward…. digging up the past isn’t going to benefit anyone in this economy. If all the time spent complaining and reminiscing about the “good ol’ days” was spent in becoming current and learning skills that merit high salaries, this article would be completely moot… just saying.
well. we also will be avoiding Targets in the future.
Very sorry to see this happen and in this manner.
Disturbing, because I had the impression that Target valued people. We need to get back to a time when elders are honored. Seniority shouldn’t be an unquestioned right – yet if an individual dedicates a lifetime to a productive and enriched career, that senior individual’s experiences should be respected in the workplace and the community.
This is terrible. Wow! However, I am not surprised at all. Corporations in this country can do whatever they want these days. There are no consequences at all. Just higher and higher profits for those at the top. Sad.
Target is not alone in this for sure, as the Denny’s story illustrates. It is a trend in this country that, I’m sure, will continue. I have a friend whose husband was fired by UPS, just a month before his 20 years w/the company. He was earning $30/hour. Apparently too much. So, he was fired…..they later offered him a job back w/them for $10/hour. Isn’t that nice!!! My friend had to scramble to get a crummy night job, as she had been a stay at home mom, just so they would have health insurance for their young boys. They now BOTH work full time and, combined, earn less than he earned alone. They are trying to keep their home. Something is terrbly wrong with this trend. I will now have to reconsider shopping at Target. I do NOT shop at Wally-world because of it’s policies. Soon I will have no place to shop, I guess.
I won’t be going to Target for any of my goods. I’ll try some of the smaller retailers and give them an opportunity with my money.
Target is simply representative of the United States in general. I’m sure if you looked at
the distribution of salaries at Target, much like the U.S., you’d find what’s known as a positive skewing, i.e., top level managers (the proud and the few) are making bigger bucks and the bucks are being squeezed from the middle. At various government institutions, they will pay off the longterm employees (i.e., “early retirement”), so they can hire younger employees at half the salary (it works out well in an accounting sense). At private companies like Target, why take the hit of paying off the mid-level, longterm management, just find a way to push them out the door.
The only protection is education and acquiring special skills, and, in some instances, this is not enough.
Don’t worry, though, as Tucsonians who have what they want, will keep places like the new Copper Mine, which would bring some nice paying jobs to Tucson, from opening.
Yeah, yeah, yeah… not in our backyard, but all the crap made of copper can go in our backyard.
There’s an old story about a village where every house had an extremely large basket hanging on the wall. One day a young boy saw his father take the basket down from the wall. The boy asked his father what he was going to do.
“Your grandparents cost more to feed and keep than they bring in,” said the father. I will put them in the basket and take them to the river and drown them.”
“Father,” said the boy, “remember to bring the basket back. I will need it for you one day.”
So, all those Target hot-shot executives who are basking in the glow of ridding the company of the “blockers” might remember the Tale of The Basket. One day, Target use it on you.
I don’t see these types of situations getting any better. Because of current patterns of advertisement, the psuedo belief that everything, everyone young, prevails beauty and therefore increases sales, older employees will be put to pasture more often then not. Then there is the issue with immigration reform, which in turn, will create a cheaper, younger, labor pool.
It used to be that a mans actions, reputation and his word were the “soul” of a company.
I guess now, all that matters is “plastic.”
Hey its not about the “Good Ol Days” we are talking about! Its people who dedicate there lives to get all worked up in this company just to get let back down by the idiots at headquarters who all they care about is racking up the bucks they dont care about there employees. So next time you say they are just complaining about the “Good Ol Days” and how it is now…think before speaking! I have had a greater view at this type situation then most people. Management does not know that in the process of doing this not only they are hurting the long time employee they are hurting his family and his self respect. I hope higher Target employees read this and wonder why there corporation is not working like a “Team”
When I first started working at Target in December of 2007, I was excited because I thought that I finally had the opportunity to work for a sophisticated, fair and good employer. Boy, was I wrong.
Target is a very sinister and hypocritical company. I realized that very soon, which made me wonder why the employees in this article had not realized this sooner themselves. Unless the company somehow changed during their 20+ year tenure, they would have had to be deaf and blind to not realize that they were in a progressively bad employment situation. And I know that Target is just like any other corporate behemoth in America, but the way that they masquerade behind such a benevolent veneer and lie right through their teeth about what they stand for is a big part of what makes them so sinister.
When I first saw this front page, I felt very vindicated. I was loud about my reservations about the company when I worked there (something that had sealed my fate, but I didn’t care), and I had always wondered why my fellow coworkers would just shrug their shoulders and go with it- and even defend Target- when they knew that what they were seeing was very wrong. I thought that I was losing my mind, like I was in some bizarre living episode of the ‘Twilight Zone.’
Here are some of the problems at Target 0855 (Grant/Tanque Verde): HR not paying attention to issues that were making worker’s lives miserable, incompetent managers that were way too young and inexperienced (an acidic solution had spilled all over the sales floor and we were not sure how to clean it up safely, and so we asked our ETL about it and she was just like ‘what do YOU guys think we should do about it?’), unfair firing campaigns over personal hang-ups when real problems needed to be dealt with, employees taking matters into their own hands because they were too scared to go to the management (including using verbal and physical intimidation towards fellow employees), and many more examples that would take the whole comment space to tell about.
I am so very glad that the Tucson Weekly had the courage to expose the decay that goes on behind the scenes at Target; Target is big, powerful company that highly defends it image and therefore is not always safe to mess with.
It is also a well-known fact that Target employs foreign labor that exploits children. And again, I know that every corporate giant in America does that. But it it made me especially sick to my stomach this past holiday when I saw the Target commercial ‘Made by Elves.’ How about a Target commercial called ‘Made by Exploited Foreign Children’ for the next holiday season?
I lost almost 2 years of my life toiling in that hell hole, 2 years of my life that I will never get back. But I have learned from it and moved on to bigger and better things. To all of the workers who have been burned by that place, and who are still stuck in there: keep your head up because good jobs are out there. I am living proof of that.
These practices are certainly not inconsistent with a third world country, so I fail to see why anyone finds this shocking. Arizona has just attained third world status slightly ahead of the rest of the country, hardly surprising given the past decade’s demolition of the middle-class. More tax cuts for the super-wealthy!
Reading this article makes me wonder. Many moons ago I applied for a job w/ Target for an after-school job. I came w/ a recommendation from the Tucson Indian Center and interviewed. I am a clean cut person who takes pride in his apprearence and, like now, I took my job seriously and didn’t slack off. I wasn’t hired; now that I read this, could it have been because I’m a big guy? I know Walmart hires people of size, and who wouldn’t pass up the chance to hire a go-getter like me. Hell, I started in sales at my dealership and am now a finance manager, thanx to my hard work. I’ve always believed I wasn’t hired because of my size, but then again I guess I was destined for better things. As for if Target hires people of size, I honestly wouldn’t know because I don’t shop @ Target, I prefer to shop at locally owned stores. Target sux.
All of these people just want to play the victim. You need to stand up and take accountability for your own actions. I have heard all of this so many times it makes me sick. Our society as a whole has become so useless it is disgusting. If any of these people did their jobs well, they would still work for the company that they were employed by. People think once the have seniority with a company the rules no longer apply to them. So they scream discrimination. Well I say STOP WHINING & TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR SELF. If you lose your job and you are good at what you do u can easily get a job somewhere else for some what comparable wages.
To “Edge” I believe you are right when you ask your self if thats the reason you didnt get hired with the Target Corp. Target will find any way possible not to hire an employee. They are all about image and its wrong. There was once a time where the corporation was about family and the employee. As for you “Jimmy” you are missing the point if al these people mentioned in this article were just being lazy and got fired because they didnt do there job they would have not gotten an article. These are people who have worked there asses off for 20+ years and are supposed to be treated with respect in the company but yet get tossed to the side because of age, or race. They know what they are doing and I respect them clearly for it. So dont go and get your “bigballs” in a bunch.
To “superfan” It is obviously YOU who doesn’t get the point. The media will print anything that they deem sensational. You have only heard one side of the story. A story from people who got complacent in their jobs and once they were called to the carpet they decided to roll over and play victim. All I have to say is that all of these people claim to be wronged and I am sure in today’s environment that couldn’t be further from the truth. Some may have a legitimate complaint. But I’m sure that most are just whiners. I have seen it time and time again. Companies change with the times, but senior employees think “I have done it this way for years I’m not going to change”. As far as I’m concerned your ass should be fired if you are not willing to grow. If you notice all of theses people who have been with the company for 20+ years have not been promoted. You should ask yourself, why did they only start complaining once they were fired? That’s because they want to be Victims. And I’m sure they, like 80% of this country are looking for a payday. As for image; have you been in to a Wal-Mart? That is probably the nastiest store I have ever walked into. I refuse to shop there because of its image.
If you have integrity nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity,nothing else matters!
I was a manager that worked with each of these managers listed in the article in my 15 year career at Target, and what each of them are saying is 100% accurate. In 2004 I was being pushed out the door as well from the store on Irvington for making too much. I as well had nothing but great reviews during my employment there where I started as a cart attendant, and worked my way up to an executive team leader, as well as a regional field representative over the entertainment division. Everything was going great until Target promoted a new store manager from Colorado. Since he came into the picture, it was just a short time until he started making my life miseralbe there, finding little things to write me up on, until I eventually found something better and left the company. I gave Target my two week notice and the store manager told me to leave now and had me escorted out of the building by loss prevention in the same manner that Manny Lovio speaked of. It is very disturbing to hear of what is happening to each of the people listed in this article. I have worked side-by-side and was trained in different areas with each of them and have nothing but respect for them. If any of you need my assistance in this matter, you know who I am and can be reached at elvistsn@yahoo.com.
As a lifelong customer of Target Corporation, I am very disturbed by these revelations. I’ve spent thousands of dollars over the years shopping at its stores all across the country, and have always avoided Walmart and Kmart, primarily because of their general trashiness, but also due to the (evidently misguided) belief that Target treated its employees better than competitors.
How naive I have been to not realize that, despite the carefully crafted image, it seems that Target is no better than its rivals. Tragically, we Americans have succumbed to the conjoined passions of cheap merchandise and abundant stock market returns. Our collective greed as a nation has driven us to the point that society is collapsing around us.
While free-market capitalism may still be the best economic system humankind has achieved, we have to understand that people are still more important than profit. The clearly documented fact that a mere 1% of our population controls the bulk of the nation’s wealth is all the evidence we need to realize that capitalism only works when it is tempered by the vigorous regulation of representative government.
Radical conservative political philosophy, however, has crippled our government over the last thirty years. And if you don’t believe that the election of Ronald Reagan was the beginning of the end, consider the recent Supreme Court decision that finally legalized the complete takeover of Congress by our corporate masters. Right-wing presidents eventually result in right-wing justices; the Roberts court has now completed its mission.
A hobbled centrist president and a weak progressive political party are no match for a House and Senate bought and paid for by the avaricious titans of big business. And now that most of the mom-and-pop small retailers have perished at the hands of the big-box giants, we consumers have little alternative but to spend our withering dollars with the bean-counting oppressors in order to obtain basic necessities. We’ve done it to ourselves, and now we pay the price.
Democratic America is finished.
Welcome to fascist America, wherein the concept of “middle class” is only an entertaining fantasy.
Someone please enlighten me if I’m in error here, but perhaps we DO have an alternative: start purchasing your staples at the grocery store, where you may pay more, but at least have the satisfaction of knowing that grocery employees are protected by a formidable union. In fact, a rebirth of unionism may be the only realistic prescription for a rescue of middle America. It’s something to consider.
Although Target has been a favorite store, this article makes me rethink my preferences. After all, I am one of the newly retired baby boomers who will dominate the market soon. Can we take revenge by boycotts? Hmmmm?
Well I always shopped at Target since they have the most “Made in the USA” choices, and they were basically not Walmart. This story disturbs me and it I need to reconsider where I buy my products.
Hate to break it to all of you guys…but they HIRE “new” Target executive team leaders for $50,000. I know many ETL’s who make at least 70-80! I know, because I AM one. This theory of “they make too much money” doesn’t hold water. And my area has several ETL’s who kick ass, make a ton of money, AND have been here for a really long time — a few people here have touched on the truth — Target is a company of change, if we’re doing the same thing today that we did 5-10 years ago, we’re not doing enough! Learn to change with the times and be the best, or look for a new company.
target truth’s comments are irrelevant, especially if s/he is a new hire…no benefit of hindsight…if Target wants to downsize, they should just implement an early retirement program with generous benefits…that’s what conscientious firms do…Circuit City, if i remember right, did what Target is doing…Where is CC today?
As a current Target team member, I can completely agree with this article. The bottom line for Target is to reduce wagerate, which is even something that they have put into their newsletters for store management. Target is also removing “Team Leader” positions, which carry anywhere from a 1-3 dollar raise, depending on location. Case in point: Team Leader at my current store made upper teens, low twenties per hour. She was terminated for no real reason. Just some made up stuff.
I’m sorry, but this is not news. The Weekly has had some good news stories in the past few months about budget cutting by the governor, the story about the Minutemen etc, but this story is a bunch of crap and is not newsworthy. Who cares about middle managers being fired at Target? I don’t.
If you find this article a bunch of “crap” why waste your time to read it? Honestly I cant turn this around and say the same thing to you, I think your comment is crap. If this story was just about managers at Target, it wouldnt have been written. This article is about the discrimination going on within the company and the people who have balls to go and speak out about it. Im not alone when I say I do find this news worthy.
This is appalling. When workers feel so intimidated by the loss of income, benefits and decent quality of life, this is what results. Young people are often more susceptible to manipulation and, if this is Target’s new business strategy, it will fail.
Yes, Circuit City went down this road. Tucsonans are pretty quiet about these things (unfortunately), but they do boycott businesses when they learn the disturbing facts.
I just emailed Target with my view on the subject. I would like to encourage others to do the same. We must be willing to stand up for fair pay and to speak out.
Here’s my letter to Target as a guide:
Today, I read a very disturbing article in the Tucson Weekly regarding Target’s possibly unfair employee practices.
As a long time customer, the information about employees being fired shortly before retirement, or after they reached a particular salary rate, is so unsettling that my family and I are considering boycotting Target from now on. We have thought in the past that your employee relations were more equitable than Walmart’s, but we may have been naive.
In this economy, treating employees with such carelessness will only cost you more business losses, especially as the news gets out.
Whatever has happened to the family friendly Target?!
I will not be shopping at Target again. I have also fwded. this story to my family and friends. You can not treat employees this way.
Jimmybigballs, you have no clue as to what you’re talking about. These folks aren’t “whiners” as you put it. The majority of people that are being shown the door are long term, older (40’s-50’s) mostly managers who because of their age and salary are being kicked out the door. The hard work, long hours (50-60 hours week) and loyalty means nothing. Cost effectiveness rules. There is a “gotcha” mentality in this company aimed at the older associates to find any reason to terminate them and it is nation wide. It usually takes about a year of “coaching” to accomplish the goal because Target wants to ensure it’s procedures will stand victorious in the courtroom.
Look around the next time you’re in Target. Look at the average age of the employees in the store. Oprah, you plug this company so much on your show but the fact is if you weren’t who you are you would never be welcomed as an employee because well, you’re too old.
The wheel turns slowly. One day these top executives and the young MBA’s they hire will also be pushed out the door.
I did work at Target for 9 of the longest years of my life. I started out as a cashier and did move my way up, eventually becoming a Hardlines Team Lead. I worked with 5 different Store Team Leaders and so many different ETL’s in the 9 years I was there. In 2008, a position for a Senior Team lead became available at my store so I applied. I had worked practically every area of the store and trained all these college educated executives that were my bosses how to do their jobs, so I felt qualified to do this job. When it came down to who got the job, it went to a girl with 1 year retail experience and she was half my age but she had a college degree. They came to me and wanted me to train her to which I told them that if I was not experienced enough to have the job then how do they know I could train her properly. It was after this that their attitudes toward me changed. I never received a bad review, in fact all my reviews to that point were excellent. That year I received the worst review I have ever had and I have been working in some fashion since I was 14. They started putting more work on me. They wanted me to write up team members under me, when, like in the article, I wanted to do more coaching. I saw the writing on the wall and could feel that they were trying to push me out. I was getting paid more and they could hire someone half me age and half my pay to do the job I was doing, so I went back to school. I got a degree and sent in my resignation to Target. It was the best day of my life. Up until now, Target has done a great job protecting their imagine, now I hope with this story, people will finally know what the REAL Target is all about.
The same thing happened to my brother. He was an awesome employee and hardworker, he was also making good money there and I am sure they figured they could hire someone else and pay them less. He had to have worked there at least 4 or 5 years. I was shocked to read this article and see the same thing has happened to so many others. I used to love Target but my view on it now has certainly changed. I won’t be spending my money there anymore if this is what they do to their employees.
I wondered why employees at a Tucson Target store I shopped at last week seemed so unhappy! Target should realize their practice is affecting employee morale, which affects the customer experience. I won’t be shopping at Target any longer.
Target is just one of those corporations that use the best of people, and then discard of them. Being an ex-employee myself, I know exactly how poorly this company treats their employees. My sympathies go out to all those suffering from Targets’ selfishness. Best wishes to all those being affected by this.
I’ll be sharing this story with my friends/family/colleagues as well as posting on Facebook. Many people I know have been shopping at Target instead of Walmart and will be very interested in this story, even though they live in the Midwest. I’m assuming this practice isn’t only occurring in Arizona.
Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tarbutt/3753…
NO MORE TARGET! I haven’t shopped at Walmart or KMart for years, due to their anti-union policies as well as use of undocumented workers poorly paid for custodial work, and Target is sadly deceiving the public by using that “community” friendly theme. I thought they were really different–silly me. I like shopping at local shops, swap meeting, yard sales. There are very few things I actually need to buy at big stores like Target, and now I will definitely buy my cat litter, shampoo, and pantyhose elsewhere.
To Jimmy no balls you must not have read the same article as we all did these people worked hard I know because I work right along with most of the ones in the article I was hired at the same time they were. I know how many hours they put in and how sometimes they worked 12 to 15 hours especially when there was going to be tour of the store by the district manager. Most of them in the article worked there way up Like Manny Lovio he started as Cart Attendent and moved up and why did he advance because he was a hard worker. There were the ETL that were not afraid to get there hands dirty and work on the floor right along with their team and not micromanage and tell everyone what to do while they sit at there desk playing manger. In fact I know that the store manager would not look kindly on the ETL that got down and dirty and worked and they would get in trouble and were told they had to manage more and work less. So do not open your big mouth when you don’t know these people or have any idea how hard they worked to get to where they were. Most of these x employees if not all expected to work for Target until they retired because they really believed in Target as a company.
Heartlessly firing a decent man right after his mother’s death? Making false accusations against good employees though fabrications about stolen gift cards, supposedly unlocked doors or disposing of an employee simply because of his handicap? I don’t think it is a coincidence that so many of these people from the same 20 year work era with exemplary reviews suddenly found themselves removed or harrassed out of Target’s employment by methodical out-of-the-blue write ups meant to bring about unsatisfactory work performances. I believe every word from these courageous folks and after reading this article, I would like to extend my thanks to them, Mari Herreras and The Tucson Weekly for exposing the true insidious nature of Target and its lowly, despicable and discriminatory actions towards their former and current employees. How curious that much was said about Walmart’s wrongdoings while Target’s misdeeds managed to fly under the radar virtually undetected. To describe what this company has done to these people as evily disgusting and unjustified is an understatement. Thank you for shining a light on this cockroach of a company and putting them under the microscope for all the unsuspecting public to see. I hope Miss Beckford wins her case and that any others who were subjected to the same treatment by Target also bring suit against them. How hypocritical and false of them to depict their image as that of a family company when it is glaringly obvious that they eat their own. I did my own informal walk-in survey of the Target stores on Old Spanish and Grant/Tanque Verde and what I saw directly correlates with the theme of what many in the article and the above comment section have said:
In a crowd of approximately 50 employees, basically the majority of them were cookie cutter, comely looking 20-30 year olds smacking gum in their mouths and chorusing saccharine sweet greetings. Maybe 4 of them were over the age 40, and only 1 with a physical handicap (note to her: don’t plan on them letting you stick around for 20 years cupcake – they’ll probably wheel you out the automatic doors and uppend you out of your chair at 19 and 1/2). Complain all you want about Walmart, but atleast there you see the employees in a variety of ages and special needs. I myself have called various Targets to let them know how offended I am as a consumer that they conduct themselves in this manner and encourage the public to shun them and not give them one cent of your hard-earned money.
Note to LATINA2DMAX: It’s a good thing 98% of the folks here have common sense, open eyes and don’t use your very incorrect assessment. This is clearly not about company evolvement, reminiscing about the “good ol’ days’, delivering work from 10 years ago or any of the other irrevelant mish-mash you prattled on about. Did you not thoroughly read this article? Perhaps the obvious needs to be pointed out to you dearie. Re-read the part where a former Store Manager specifically said that during management meetings “long-time employees identified as problems were called “blockers,” and “needed to leave the company” and also that “hiring someone 10 years younger than these people, at half the pay” was the goal. THAT is what this is about. Comprende?
Note to Jimmy-no-balls: Usually trollish comments of your nature are unworthy of a reply but you are so amusing in your ignorance and misinformation that I just cannot resist. Are you by any chance a shill for the company? You certainly sound like one and I’m sure your check is in the mail. These people aren’t playing victims, they ARE victims and the only whiner here is you with your desperate and libelous claim that they were complacent in their job. Please check your miniscule, shriveled and undescended one at the door before popping off with any more nonsensical remarks about people who have more courage, excellent work ethic and moral fortitude than you.
When one reads this article it would be easy to assume that Target, is the big evil wolf that is heartlessly getting rid of its employees based on age, or high salaries. But have you stopped to ask yourself would a company that is one of the largest retailers in the country take a risk and place itself in a situation that it could alienate their customers and employees? What is their long term benefit and financial savings if it is spent in fighting legal battles and losing valuable seasoned employees?
Although, I don’t work for Target and work for a competitor, I can tell you that Target has a solid reputation, and we actively recruit their leaders. We recruit their leaders because they generally are the best in the industry, but we have a challenging time convincing them to leave Target. The employees cite many different reasons why they don’t want to leave including salary, benefits, advancement, etc. but the common theme is that they feel respected and valued. In my recruiting role I have come accross a variety of Target managers, and although the may vary in age, background, tenure with Target they all had one thing in common a passion for what they do every day.
That being the case when I read this article I have to ask myself what do the individuals named in this article have in common with one another, besides the obvious. These former employees have a common bond, their inability to change with the times, and keep up with the ever changing demands of an every changing business. As previously stated by Latina2dmax, companies that don’t evolve, fail and in the same comparison so do employees that don’t change. Perhaps, the bigger question should be what did these employees do when they saw their annual evaluations dropping? Did they seek to improve, did they step up their preformance? Or did they assume that their tenure earned them a permanent position?
A company that is stable and still turning profits in this economy would not risk their position by firing its employees on unfounded grounds. Target would not risk alienating its customers who come from a diverse background, and is smart enough to look at the long term risks of any wrong doing. I can tell you as an employee for a competitor that Target is regarded with some envy for the quality of employees that it hires and is able to retain.
Ultimately, corporations are in the business of making money and Target is no different. Target’s goal is to be a succesful retailer, and that can not happen if it acts in a manner that is unethical. Target knows that and I don’t believe would engage in doing so, and would not want to risk its financial success by doing so. If Target were to falsely terminate employees, or discriminate based on age, or any other matter, it would risk losing what makes it successful. Again, there are two sides to every story, and this article has presented just one.
Manny Lovio, José Garcia, Lavonne Beckford, Mary Mann, Jeff Stehle, Sandy Klinetobe and Robert Lovio you are all to be commended for having the courage to come forward and sharing your experiences. Thank you for alerting us, the public. God bless each one of you and all others who have been wronged in this manner by Target and other corporations that have treated their employees in this manner. Hold your heads up high and know that Tucson and many across the nation are proud of you.
I used to go rock climbing with the former STL at the Grant Road store, Chris. I never really took to the guy, as he was always talkingabout things happening in the store. I thought that he was a bit pompous and loud. He seemed to enjoy tearing his “minions” down and seemed to look for reasons to fire people. He claimed that he could get anyone fired if he wanted to. He did tell me that there was a “bible” for HR and STL’s that outlined how to fire gays, people of color and old timers that were “blockers”. Does anyone have a copy of this? I bet someone does and I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up. Has anyone checked his facebook page? At one time, it had disparaging comments about Blacks, Oprah and Gays on it. Wow, doesn’t Target monitor who they hire? I understand he was promoted to a District Manager in California.
To Commonsense:
You stated that the former employees’s common bond is their inability to change with the times and keep up with the ever changing demands of an every changing business. Oh? And you know this how? Nowhere has this been said by either the ex-employees or the Target spokespeson, Sarah Soriano. The problem here is that you state this as a fact but unless you have proof that this is indeed what occurred then what you have said is just a really bad assumption and purely speculation on the part of you and Latina2dmax (though I strongly suspect you are one and the same anyway).
Note to John Doe/Target Sucks:
Thank you for sharing your blog with the public and educating us on the hypocritical policies of Target. I was astounded by what I read and wonder how they’ve managed to get away with this for so long avoid public scrutiny! What you have said about the “shills” being put in place here for “damage control” hits the bullseye (pun intended) and exactly what I suspected. What a disgraceful company, they should be ashamed of themselves.
A reminder, folks, that name-calling and anonymous accusations are not tolerated at TucsonWeekly.com. Thanks, folks.
Reading this article, and having other information about Target, it is clear that there is a concerted pattern of exploitation, lies, deception and oppression by this giant organization, Target, against a selected group of employees and former employees. This case needs to be brought before the US Depts. of Labor and Justice. I will NEVER again shop in a Target store, and I will do everything in my power to prevent relatives, friends and colleagues from doing any business with Target. We the public should not support organizations where there are documented reports of exploitation and discrimination against employees. Since Target wants to save money by forcing out senior-level minority employees, let us treat Target accordingly by not spending our money in their stores.
All of us as Americans pay an economic price when these large organizations mistreat their employees and deprive them of earning a good standard of living. Beyond that America is supposed to be a country where people’s rights are protected. We all know that depends on which people are being exploited. The people in this story are mostly Mexicans and Blacks; that is NOT by chance. We are still a country where Target and others believe they can treat certain minorities as second-class citizens. They should NOT be allowed to get away with this dastardly behavior. Everyone involved in these situations with Target need to all get together and go to the Justice Dept. or get a good lawyer to file a class action suit against Target. If the American Labor and Justice Depts want people to believe there is real fairness in our system then they need to take up this case on behalf of these disenfranchised American employees. This organization needs to be held accountable for their unconsionable conduct against hard-working Americans. Let us boycott Target starting today.
Now that this article has came out.. Target will probably try and save there butt by hiring older employees.
For those out there that don’t believe these people were fired because of their tenure, you are dead wrong. How do I know? My Store Team Leader and I were very close and she often shared things with me that she shouldn’t have. It was her way of keeping sane. After a meeting with our new District Team Leader, she called me into her office so she could vent. She was told that she needed to write up one of my fellow ETLs and get her gone. When my STL asked why, she was told because the ETL was nearing retirement and could be replaced with someone for half the salary. When the STL refused to do more than verbal coaching she was suddenly a problem performer as well.
I also worked for Target for 17 years. Just over a year ago I left Target due to health issues brought on by a lack of work/life balance. I did all the right things, put in two weeks notice, worked 12 – 15 hours a day even though it was against Doctor’s orders, I even did a huge After College Bounce Back walk on my last shift with the company… stayed late, wrote out Great Team Cards, left notes for my Co-ETL on follow up needed moves… What did all this get me??? A big fat nothing. I decided to go back to school last year and wanted an easy part-time job to help with bills while I work on a degree. When I was not hired back for a job that I am extremely over qualified for I got a hold of my former HR to ask what had gone wrong. I was told, nothing. They “Target” will never hire you back because they would have to pay you more than entry level pay and any time that I worked would count toward eventual retirment. Well thanks so much for letting us all know that though you speak about work/life balance it is not something you really want us to have. And as for the “Challange of Change” the more we learn to live it the more unrealistic your expectations become. You can only get so much blood from a turnip!! I’m now making 1/3 of the income that I did at Target, worry about how I’m going to keep my house and pay the bills. But I am a much happier and healthier person. I don’t find myself on the verge of tears at the end of a long day, my subordinates at my new job acctually think I’m a nice person and my boss loves me. Target, I’ll see you in Hell!!
This explains a lot concerning the newly remodeled “Super Target” on Oracle and Roger. It is a VERY POORLY run store. Now I know why, they won’t keep the “seasoned” experienced people who know what they’re doing. Instead they have a store full of “cheaper” help, who don’t care if the shelves have the items customer’s want on them. I will quit going there, which is an easy decision due to their poor store conditions, but this just makes it a sure thing!
So sorry for the people this happened to, so sad when we put our heart and soul into a job, and for a company that see us as disposable. I am also unemployed at 50+, don’t give up and either will I, we’ll get through!
Re: “Getting the Ax” Citizen for JusticeReading this article, and having other
information about Target, it is clear that there is a concerted pattern of
exploitation, lies, deception and oppression by this giant organization, Target,
against a selected group of employees and former employees. This case needs to
be brought before the US Depts. of Labor and Justice. I will NEVER again shop in
a Target store, and I will do everything in my power to prevent relatives,
friends and colleagues from doing any business with Target. We the public should
not support organizations where there are documented reports of exploitation and
discrimination against employees. Since Target wants to save money by forcing
out senior-level minority employees, let us treat Target accordingly by not
spending our money in their stores.
>
> All of us as Americans pay an economic price when these large organizations
mistreat their employees and deprive them of earning a good standard of living.
Beyond that America is supposed to be a country where people’s rights are
protected. We all know that depends on which people are being exploited. The
people in this story are mostly Mexicans and Blacks; that is NOT by chance. We
are still a country where Target and others believe they can treat certain
minorities as second-class citizens. They should NOT be allowed to get away with
this dastardly behavior. Everyone involved in these situations with Target need
to all get together and go to the Justice Dept. or get a good lawyer to file a
class action suit against Target. If the American Labor and Justice Depts want
people to believe there is real fairness in our system then they need to take up
this case on behalf of these disenfranchised American employees. This
organization needs to be held
> accountable for their unconsionable conduct against hard-working Americans.
Let us boycott Target starting today.
>
>
I know from experience that it is virtually impossible to get anything but a generic form letter reply from the Target Customer non-service people. Calling their listed phone number in Minneapolis and asking to speak to someone in the Executive Office is a waste of time, they just transfer you to CS, letters to the President/CEO are NOT going to reach them, they also go to CS. Target has no interest in any input directly to the ‘officers’ of the company.
From various sources I have a few direct email addresses that a customer might try, do NOT expect a reply, but as far as I can determine as of today the below email addresses are open. You might note that if you can determine the first and last name of someone at Target you can easily put a . between the first and last name and just add @target.com and you have a pretty decent chance of reaching that persons mailbox.
The first two people on the below list are the Pres/CEO and his private secretary. Of course you can just highlight and paste these addresses into your outgoing email to all of them, sort of an ‘executive email bomb’, if they get enough incoming complaints those folks in the ivory tower in Minneapolis just ‘might’ do something, yeah it is a long shot but at least they will get some negative feed back.
gregg.steinhafel@target.com,
denise.may@target.com,
tim.baer@target.com,
stacia.andersen@target.com,
mitch.stover@target.com,
michael.francis@target.com,
kathee.tesija@target.com,
john.griffith@target.com,
doug.scovanner@target.com,
tory.risch@target.com
I think they were ALL WAY OVERPAID PERIOD !
To give some perspective here, There are SKILLED TRADESMEN in Tucson, that have skills that took years to aquire and additionally, most Employers REQUIRE THEM to – provide a truck and tools and equipment, all for the lovely wage of $12.00 – $15.00 per hr. or so…..THAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AND WAS HAPPENING DURING THE BOOM, where the justice there ?
We live in a right to work state thats why. In closing I feel bad for anyone who loses employment, but honestly, Working @ Target and making that kind of Money is a direct slap in the face to ALL of the hard working men & women in the State of Arizona, That (I am certain) work alot HARDER and for ALOT LESS than the people featured in the cover story. Maybe its time these folks got a taste of what the rest of us have been going through FOR YEARS!
Target F’d up – seriously, these folks were GROSSLY overpaid. $21.00 an hour to manage a target?……In Tucson?
In a bad Economy? Hell, for that matter a “normal” economy! The way Target handled the situation was chickenshit, NO DOUBT,…..but the bottom line is YOU WERE ALL GROSSLY OVERPAID, RIDING ON A GRAVY TRAIN!
ps – Just for the record I am not affiliated w/ target or “planting” stuff as tellmepastor or whatever the hell his name is…suggested…..
you can find out more about me here – ( prolly have to cut/paste)
http://www.myspace.com/tommybaile
Peace !
Yet another reminder, folks, that name-calling is not allowed on TucsonWeekly.com comments. Thank you.
Perhaps this Tommy B with 3 recent posts should just be deleted from the board, seems like a troll to me. We need a higher level of comments than this person is providing.
You’re not convincing in the least Tommy. Your suspicious little quips give you away but regardless I still found your rant to dismissed as laughworthy and somewhat tinged with envy. These ex-employees and what they’ve had to endure are far more fascinating so you can keep your link as I am not the tiniest bit interesting in knowing more about you.
I was just like to imform certain people that, We are not talking about the now economic times we are talking about the economy back in 2006ish when it was still fairly decent…get the facts straight instead of just going from commemts.
As a current and hopefully soon to be ex-employee. I can tell you that this practice is not just at the uppermanagement level. The company has gone thru and eliminated all Specialist positions and have replaced the paygrade that these people go with a minimum wage paygrade. The people currentlyin these positions get to keep there pay but there hours are being cut. Also Team lead positions are being eliminated as they get rid of team leads and are putting those duties on the remaining team leads that is adding more then they should have to handle. And these team members hours are being cut as well. Some have gone from 36-40 hours to 22-26 hours a week. Tell me how these people are living. I myself am the highest paid team member in my position thus I have gone from 32-40 hrs a week to less then 12. So they are trying to cut cost at any cost and it is at YOU the guests expence.
My wife and I had the chance to work with 3 Lovio brothers and Sandy Klinetobe at the store on Tanque Verde and Grant in the mid-nineties, until we left in 2000’s. High integrity, genuinely caring people, got their hands dirty with front line employees, and 110% dedicated to Target. The Lovio brothers were well know throughout the “Target Family” and synonymous with Target. What a loss for Target. I was so shocked to see this article. Best of luck to the Lovio’s and Sandy in their future endeavors. You taught me a lot about leadership and work ethic. Ken & Sarah Bos.
It appears the Nazis won after all. I’m just glad I quit the regime when I did. No 2 weeks notice, went out on my own terms. To think I actually wanted to rehire. Their brainwashing tactics are clearly still effective. Fight the machine everybody. No more Target regime for me.
Target settles these behind close doors when there is proof. Someone I know settled with Target but was told they can not speak about it as part of the settlement. So shady…
This happened to my father and his peers in Tucson
in 1972 by Standard Oil. He had 24 years with the
company and he and all the older employees were fired.
He had to start over when he was in his 50s.
I know of a Target “Bible” that was circulating in the Tucson stores several years ago. The HR Director left a coy of it on the printer. Oops. It explains how to fire people of color, sexual orientation, and religion. It also give suggestions on how to step-by-step, terminate a “blocker”. I wonder if any of the people mentioned in the article have gotten their hands on a copy? Wouldn’t that be something?
To “Socrates”, If you happen to still have a copy of that Target “Bible” I would like to get a hold of it. Trust me im not a member of Target or associated with them. All I want is justice against this corporation and for these people in this article to have there victory they have been waiting for. If you can get a copy that would be greatly appreciated. jlalpresentations@live.com
I don’t live in AZ but I saw the article mentioned on the ‘Consumerist. site and took a look.
I was really surprised to read about how they treat their long term employees, I knew (from experience) that they had a pretty bad policy on returns, read that on Consumerist also I think, but this comes as a big surprise.
I wonder if there are other such suits around the country? It sounds like it must be some sort of undercover or not published policy to find reasons to discharge people who are making too much money.
Well, good luck with the suit, hope you can get a decent award for all the stuff you had to put up with.
Scott from WI
I have had the same problem with a company I worked for (NWV). I was their for almost 5 years. I was denied unemployment the district manager claimed that I disrespected her,(which was never done, she was like my mother that I lost, she and I would even joke about that) I have witnesses that are afraid to come forward because they might loose their job. I was a valued employee I trained almost all the new hires, I was the DM right hand person. She would call me when she was not going to be in the store and I would take care of everything she needed to be done. The President of the company would even acknowledge me at the annual DM meetings on a regular basis. I am a single mother of 3 and I feel the DM took her personal feelings against me and was upset that all the employees would make comments and I quote “We are not worried when you(dm) come to the store but if so in so came then we would be worried”
Sincerely,
ITS NOT OVER
Target Corp. created this monster themselves…way to go. If they wanted to eliminate “blockers”, they should have never created them in the first place, bit then again, who wants a job when there’s no chance of advancement?
When people invest 20 years of their working lives in a company, they’re entitled to be treated with RESPECT. What Target has done here surprises me not at all. In attempt to squeeze out more corporate profit, they’ve cemented the already existing belief of profit before people. It’s disappointing, but not surprising.
To the poster that believes these employees are “riding the gravy train?” I wonder how you would react if it happened to you…ya, I know, you wouldn’t let it happen…good luck with that.
I’m not sure how many Americans Target employs, but it’s probably a staggering amount. They provide jobs in an economy where jobs are gold, but this does NOT give them the right to do what they do. We can choose to boycott Target, but it’ll be a long hard road before they change their practices.
A shout out to the best pub in Tucson for exposing this story.
People give the unions a bad rap, but this is exactly the type of reprehensible employer behavior from which the unions protect their members.
My father was a skilled carpenter who, in the 50’s and 60s, was denied employment for being “too old” (he was in his thirties). When he found work, he was also occasionally paid with bouncing checks or was told to go to the local store and buy what he needed on his employer’s account in lieu of a paycheck. Life finally stabilized and we had a normal middle-class existence after he joined the carpenter’s union.
We are sliding back into the 1900’s “robber baron” type of society. All of the safeguards put in place to protect American workers have been dismantled in the past few decades. We need to wake up and demand that these safeguards be restored.
Sadly, it may be too late.
I work for target for 14 years 4 month I was a team leader I came across 3 other team leaders stealing from starbucks I reported them by telling assets protection. the other team leaders ages were 37,35, and 25 my age was 49 I had never been written up gave my job 100% everyday perfect attendance the works,they ended up terminating me claiming I went into confidential files which was looking at electronic journal being a guest service team leader gives you that authorization that was my position, even though prior to that 4 other cashiers were stealing I use the same process to determine if they really were stealing and these cashiers were reported terminated and arrested but the team leaders I reported still work there this store is located in harper woods, mi not only did target fire me in this matter they fired about eight(8) other team leaders who were reaching 50 years of age and over started writing them up for anything all of us were on good standing with the company. I want to note also myself and a assect protection team member had proof of the thefts of the other team leaders on paper and on camera
I worked for the Target Company 776 in Harper Woods, Mich, I too was terminated unjustifiably a year ago on the 24th of March, with no explanation on the reason why and to add insult to injury is still fighting for my unemployment benefits that I have worked very hard for, dedicating nine years of my life to their quote unquote brand. Along with my termination three other supervisors where terminated for meager reasons. Before we were terminated we were informed in a meeting that we were over head count that the store would consist of six team leaders versus the eighteen that was employed at our store. Instead of offering us buy outs they put extreme unrealistic task on each one of us basically forcing us to quit or worse terminate us on work performance. Target is doing a corporate downsizing due to the economy.
I was recently fired from Target in Michigan. It sounds like they are carrying this tradition of firing folks who have committed their energy and time to their organization for unwarrantable reasons. I was a specialist and my position was eliminated so I decided to take the separation package, I guess this did not go over to well because on my last day they fired me for unjustifiable reasoning. More like railroaded me out of the separation package. The opportunities for advancement are slim because mostly all of the hierarchy positions have been eliminated. They have fired over 75 employees within this last year and most of them have been with the company for at least 9 years or more. It has been really hard because this makes it hard for you to trust another employer. They need a union so that this can stop from happening. It is devastating to know that an organization can get away with doing their dedicated employees any kind of way.
I have read a lot of comments thinking that the separation of employee’s come from us not being able to evolve with the company and it’s ever changing brand.. you r so incorrect. It looks like to me the team members with morals and hardworking ethics were the first to be let go. As with alot of powerful corporation Target has a lot of politics that dwells inside this may seem hard to fathom when it’s stock consist of laundry detergent,paper towel and a import of products that is made in Turkey,Indonesia and China very rarely you see made in the USA.. believe me I know I was a freight supervisor that was in charge of the truck unloads in receiving. Target portrays this holier than thou image,they will never tell you that they night cleaning crew consisted of Mexicans that work seven days a week at minimum wage thru a company that degraded them called Kellimer my spelling may be incorrect with the company, but I know first hand since I was the night manager and treated them with much respect, more than they received from my peers who looked down on them. I had a manager that is part of the Detroit Piston’s AutoMotion ask me what nationality I was,even though I laugh then, I should have reported her but this is an inside glismp of how prejudice they are, and I am not the one to play the race card you can check and see how they put the mother out of the store for breastfeeding their baby, by the way he was terminated after covering for his sister in law at star bucks and oh by the way the mother was a mexican, but what they didn’t realize since they belittle the races her husband was a Police officer it was in the Detroit news paper and televised on the news. So just to wrap this up, no one with celebrity statuses, hardworking Americans, should support Target, they called out Walmart now it is they turn
By the Way
Eric Justice(Patsy)
Jaunita Quartey(liar)
Shazanta Warren (Thief)
Shanthia Coleman(Thief)
should have been the first one to go according to the Target Member Handbook
I give my support to the Family Dollar before this Corp. loc in Harper Woods, MI
I too am a former Target employee with a similar situation as I have actually been let go from Target corp after 16yrs. I have never been written up, or had any kind of coaching or corrective action in my life, nor have I ever known a Team Leader who was, that is until recently. 4 team leaders have been fired from just my former store alone, with one more on the way. All of those let go have had 15 plus years in, one actually had 22. And thats just one store I cant seem to get an accurate number of how many have been let go in other area stores but I know there are many. And the reasons are absurd. They seem to have documentation of conversations I never had with execs. They can make up anything they want, its our word against theres. There is even a new District Manager. This is however affecting executives too. Many Store Managers and other upper management execs have been let go as well. From what Ive seen my last few months there, Target is no longer about the guest, they are only about Target. So your comment from their spokesperson is not accurate, maybe if she had ever worked at store level she would see that. People joke and make comments, but this is real and this is how people survive. We need our jobs more than ever, but Target seems to think its ok to throw people away.
I am also a former Target employee.1987-2007 I was fired just 10 months shy of having 20 years with the company. I had permission from the store manager to purchase certain items. He denied giving me permission. He said he couldn’t remember giving me permission. (sounds like a set up to me.) I have worked with all of the people mentioned in this article. I can relate to everything they said. I gave 110% to this company to only end up with nothing. At my age 50+ it is hard to start over. I should be looking forward to retirement in the near future but I can’t. What I worked so hard for is now gone. I would like, Manny, Sandy, or anyone else mentioned in this article to contact me, if I can help in anyway, please let me know. You’ll know how to get in touch with me. I worked at Target on Roger and Oracle and Ina and Thornydale. For those who are employed by Target and have been for many years, GOOD LUCK!! You may need it.
This is all too frequent. I work at a job in a college town (not Tucson) and have worked long and hard to increase my wages through performance. I also get commissions and have icreased my commission split through performance. But now I’m finding they’re trying to push me out the door and I’m sure it’s because they can hire a student at $9 per hour, no benefits, and they have to start from the bottom and work their way up until they get to where I am. The sad thing is they’re trying to get rid of me by contesting FMLA for a medical problem they say doesn’t exist despite the fact they have found me passed out at my desk twice! I understand the younger genteration needs their chance too, but what’s wrong with working up to it the way people my age did when we were that young? Believe me, you appreciate anything you have to work hard for all that much more.
me and my husband were fired within 8 months of each other we were both supervisors at a target store in michigan. he was making almost $17.00 and me almost $14.00 we were there 10 and 11 years and they told my husband that his job out grew him and i was fired because of what was a plain set up to get me out because we were making pretty descent pay. my husband still has not found a job we lost our 401k along with our health insurance..i was also voted employee of the month one year and was loved by the guest and especially my team. Target should be ashamed after firing such dedecaded employees and not to mention the humiliation of being fired. Maurice and Dawn Carter
I have this at my target as well. I work at the target in wheaton il and they have been getting rid of higher paid team leads. They want to get rid of me too, but they are letting me find a new job since I graduated and looking for a career, but I have over heard them talking in the offices, those vents travel everything, about getting rid of a softlines tl that has been there since the store opened like 17 years. Saying that he will not quit and they need to start writing coachings to fire him, and he just wants to retire in 3 years, but they don’t want to let him make it there. They told me personally that they were going to fire me and said I have 3 months till I get fired. I asked how if I didn’t do anything wrong and my etl said it doesn’t matter the other etls will make up things and that they already have. This ETL was nice to tell me and said that he told them that he wouldn’t do it, coachings, CCA, or final, because we thought I am the best TL they have. Then they asked since I have a degree if I thought of moving up, an ETL. I told them no I want to be an engineer and that I didn’t want to be part of target’s new bogus policies. So, they told me to speed up the job search and find a new job soon. WTF, I’m good enough to be an ETL but not a TL. I’ve worked there for over 6 years, so I do get my full 401k pay out, and HR will let me cash in my vacation time, so I’ll be ok even if I don’t find a job first. My room-mate was one that got fired as well for bogus stuff that had nothing to with what really happened, made up stuff. I have seen others get fired too. So much for any costumer service you wanted at target its all going to be gone, I have guest come in to ask me about electronics questions because they know I know what I’m talking about, I have an electronics engineering degree. Those guest will have to go to best buy now. And I don’t blame the etls at the store the blame the company, the ETLs have been nice giving me time to find a job and telling me about it. Well, I got a job over as a technician and I can move up from there so here’s my notice, peace out target, I use to do all my shopping there too, guess I’ll do it at meijer or wallmart now.
I worked worked target for 12 years , I loved working there and over the years the upper manament changed a lot i think i had 6 or 7store managers untold exutives it was a reloving door , but i got out with my 401k , In my case i was never gotten a Wright up or any thing like that. I new everyone in the store i tryed to make it a life time job ! but Unlike some people at the store I felt the winds of change ! , I got my first wright up and i was to try to get 80 hrs of work done in 40hrs of time , this was the start of the end for me . When i left thay got Two Kids to take over my jobs . and all the people that i worked with over those years all left or got fired ! the only people that servived were Part Timers that take no money and benifits and no Hrs !!!! if you go to any Target Or Best Buy There are Part Time Kids all over the Place , Its not hard to work for them now there have Hand Held Scaners , that tell You where to put back things on the floor , the iles are numberd on the sales floor and back room . Planoes And Price Changes Are Pre PacKaged for you .
when you unload the truck it has the ile and spot it put the product !!Any Monkey Can do this job now .
Target is no joke when it comes to weeding out employees who no longer “fit the bill” or using Target terminology are “brand”. Its firing practices are downright discriminiatory and out of line. I worked there in a group leader position for two years and I saw it all the time. During the end, I was forced out too. Luckily, I saw the writing on the wall and was able to find another job before I was let go, but it was still incredibly painful. I saw many excellent employees fired just because the group director didn’t like them. It was fired or be fired. I’m surprised more lawsuites haven’t been filed and that Target’s reputation remains squeaky clean.
I had a similar situation happen to me when I worked at Target in regards to retaliation. I was out on vacation and when I returned, my store had a number of phone calls to the Hotline because my store manager was “yelling” at them in front of other employees and “accusing them” of taking long breaks. My store was a “focus” store, so this alerted the district level leaders. When they asked me what the situation was, I told them about my store manager’s behavior. After that, everything went downhill with my manager. Where he was supportive before, now he was coming down on me for small issues and disrespectfully talking to me in front of my peers. He eventually told me to either quit or risk being “written up.” If I decided to leave after getting a write up, he’d have to tell people I was “written up.” I was called “selfish” and consistently “missing the small things”, like not putting napkins out when we had a spread for the employees. I still feel Target is an innovative company with an excellent business model, but the politics get in the way. An open door is not truly an open door when you can not trust your leaders and retaliation exists.
I worked at Target for 3 1/2 years in 1983 when I got fired for something I didn’t do. I was the highest paid cashier, then, and I later heard that the real reason I was fired was because they could then hire a person to take my place for less money. I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS STILL GOING ON! I keep hearing the same exact story of what I went through. Just starting out as a college student, it was a pretty big deal to my ego especially since I didn’t do anything wrong.
I was told to go to a room upstairs with a couple of higher ups. Little did I know what I was in for. They kept asking me questions that I didn’t understand, such as…
What do you think would look good in your living room?
Then when they figured out that I knew nothing about anything, they hinted toward me stealing something. I still didn’t know what they wanted to know.
Since I was young and naive, I didn’t know I could leave, so I stayed in there for over 3 hours while they interrogated me.
They told me that they had camera footage of me taking something. I wanted to see the footage but they didn’t show it to me and went on to something else.
Finally I was so tired and wanted to go home so bad that I sarcastically said what can I say to make you guys happy so that I can go home? They told me that if I confessed to what they were saying, I could go. So I said ok, I confess. They said to what. I said to whatever you said. They said, so what did you steal. I said, let’s see, how about a candy bar, ok, can I go home now? They said ok now we are getting somewhere, how many did you take? I said, jokingly, how about 25.00 worth sound to you?
They then said that I could go, but I was fired, and the 25.00 would come out of my last pay check.
The (not so) funny thing about this whole unfortunate situation is that, at the time, candy bars were .33 cents. That means that I lost my 3 1/2 year job with no prior write ups or problems for 75 CANDY BARS that I supposedly stole.
To make matters worse is that after I contacted a head manager in Denver to tell him what happened, he verbally apologized and said that I would be getting good recommendations to get another job. I applied for several jobs and was told that I pretty much had the job one day, only to be told I didn’t the next. Afterwards, the very first time I DIDN’T put Target on my resume, I got the job.
One blogger stated that this happened in the past and we should move on and concentrate on other things. Well, this is still happening after 20 years. It needs to stop.
Another blogger says that people were getting paid too much anyway. Well, I was only making 3.00 more an hour than minimum wage by EARNING my promotions. I wouldn’t have cared to stay at that same rate, but what they did to me, hurt me. I could have worked up to be a manager, or at the least, have it on my resume of achievements.
ME AND MY FAMILY HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER SHOP AT TARGET AGAIN BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT TO SUPPORT ANY STORE THAT TREATS THEIR EMPLOYEE’S SO POORLY FOR ANY REASON.
It would be different if something was done about this, but after 20 years of it still happening, this tells me that …
TARGET IS ALL ABOUT THE ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR, NO MATTER WHO THEY USE AND TOSS AWAY TO GET IT.
wow…the above response is all one needs to scroll…chulo’s comment is right on target…in unity there’s strength…Michael Jackson & MLK were right…you, we the people can choose to sacrifice & support thrift shops & other merchants…it’s as simple as ABC.
I hope Y’all don’t mind if I blog W/ya. To the few who said this treatment is everywhere is absolutely correct; and the biggest offender is the Federal Gov’t.
They’ll use trumped up charges, scapegoats as well as out and out lies by those goaded to do the bidding of hirer ups as well as those you work side by side with. It appears to be sanctioned by those in authority. I never once got a bad performance evaluation in the almost 24 yrs. at the same hospital. Granted I only got perhaps four (4) performance awards because I am out spoken, as I was raised to do by the very people that who worked hard all their lives for the same company out of loyalty due to the respect, that’s no longer given to the work forces. The Fed. Gov’t. touts DIVERSITY, yet, does not practice it. An EVIL Woman ( woman is not the right word ) Adult Bully ( yeah that’s right ) had throughly pissed off a Wife of a PT. When the wife asked for her name, She gave my name. I got suspended W/O pay for that. The fourth supervisor we had during my tenure there, placed his ridiculous secretary in our break room ( she had nothing to do w/ our department and should have never been there ) took offense when ( in our break room where we should be able to let off steam ) I, to my self, called a DR. a ( “fricken idiot ) for ordering a procedure that could very well cause harm , not to mention
the excessive extra amount of pain to the PT. A few days latter verbally and physically She attaced me in MY bearkroom. She stuck her index finger right in my face and touched the tip of my nose, and when I said get your finger out of my face, she said, “like a second grader” ” make me “. Needless to say, I got out of there and believe it or not I don’t remember how. Soon after, I get called ito to the supervisors office for physically attacking her. when I didn’t touch her. She claimed I had scrached her. Well if you knew me and looked at my nails, NO WAY I could do that. What they did’t know is, I followed her a bit after she left our dept. and I saw her scratch herself. This kind of stuff is, as I said sanctioned by the GOV’T. to get rid of people. So they were going to fire me. I was fightin tooth and nail. I even talked to the JUDGE who was going to preside over the case and she told me to my face that I had valid issues. Something must have been said as a short time latter I was given the option to retire. Couldn’t loose benefits and my pittance of a retirement. But in order to do this I had to sign a disclosure
statement. Stuck ” ROCK / HARD PLACE “.
Sorry about goin on and on. I admire y’all and what you are doing. I too am finding
it diffucult to find a place to shop, ad now Target is another one.
Sorry Here: Adding To Edge: U came out on top. WOO HOO !!
Jimmy: U need your Balls Clipped and maybe a frontal lobotomy
SuperFan: They,the powers that be, KNOW exactly what they are
doing to employee as well as their families, But
Idolatry of money has a much stronger pull than
respect,decency,honor etc,etc,etc!!
I don’t see the point in rewarding those managers to that degree just to fire them in the process.
If it were me I’d want my manager to warn me that monetary advancement will end or has ended. Sometimes you have to switch jobs to get a raise – thats the right to work job market realities. If they are reaching some sort of sinister threshold, what’s wrong with some notice?
Boycotting Target won’t solve the problem. It’ll just make them fire more employees.
Reminds me of the way I (and nearly all employees in my situation – many years’ senority and earning a decent wage) – were summarily “let go” in the Spring of 2009. Our work product was not in question…….our salaries were. The company then hired some very inexperienced people at a greatly reduced salary to replace us. Well, the company eventually went out of business due, in part I am sure, to all their cost-cutting measures and now not only are we still unemployed, but our replacements working for pennies are unemployed also. It seems to me that that is no way to run a business but the companies keep trying with the expectation that cheaper is better. And they all tumbled into the ditch!
Talking about it doesn’t do anything…write their Corporate Office a letter to tell them why you have discontinued shopping there.
Target Corporate Office Headquarters HQ in the USA:
Address:
1000 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403 USA
Corporate Phone Number: 1-612-304-6073
Corporate Fax Number: 1-612-761-5555