The 1.8-million-member American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union has passed a new resolution urging members to boycott Target stores as a way to protest the retailer’s anemic reaction to the ICE “occupation” of the Twin Cities in recent months. Noting that teachers spend $895 annually on school-related supplies alone, a total of $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket spending, the AFT is recommending that its members shop locally rather than at Target.
The AFT’s move seems designed to keep the pressure on Target. It comes a few weeks after a group of civil rights and faith-based organizations that had been protesting Target’s slow progress on diversity, the TargetFast group, announced that they had reached a partial resolution with the retailer to end a year-long boycott.
While the latest AFT boycott resolution credits Target’s new leaders with wanting to chart a different course, as seen in the progress made with the TargetFast group, it noted that “we are deeply disappointed that Target refuses to show that same openness when it comes to calling for an end to ICE’s occupation of the Twin Cities.” Federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during the operation.
AFT President Randi Weingarten said the union plans to introduce a resolution at the AFL-CIO convention in Minneapolis this summer, and at conventions held by other organizations, including the NAACP and LULAC, to adopt similar stances.
Weingarten told CNBC that the AFT had sent a letter to Target and met with staff to encourage them to speak up before the union moved to pass the resolution: “Target was negotiating with our colleagues in the civil rights community for weeks and weeks and weeks,” she said. “They could have very easily dealt with both [concerns about DEI and immigration enforcement] and they chose not to,” she said in an interview with CNBC, adding that Target is “more worried about standing with the Trump administration than the communities that made them a profitable company.”
Target has been trying to put these controversies, which also had included conflicts over Pride-themed merchandise that then-CEO Brian Cornell tried to address in August 2023, behind it.
Target also released a statement detailing its support of educators: “Target is proud to support the educators who shape the next generation. Through our Teacher Appreciation program, including a one-time 20% discount during our annual Teacher Prep event, we will continue to support educators and invest in growth and opportunity for all.”
In February 2026 new CEO Michael Fiddelke identified his four top priorities , including:
- Leading with merchandising authority by bringing together design, style and value;
- Elevating the guest experience by making store visits and digital interactions easier, more inspiring and more welcoming;
- Accelerating technology to remove friction and enable more personalized guest experiences; and
- Strengthening Target teams and communities by investing in its people, building future-ready skills and growing alongside the communities it serves.
Additionally, Target revealed earlier this month that it would add a total of $2 billion to its capital and operations investments in FY 2026, including refreshing the store experience chainwide.
