Teachers union calls for Target boycott over ICE stance

So far, the teachers union’s boycott call has not translated into a visible change on the sales floor. The pressure is landing where Target leaders cannot ignore it: in a March 13 letter to incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke, in a threatened resolution to 1.8 million members, and in a coming battle over the retailer’s board and brand in Minnesota.

The American Federation of Teachers said Target has not gone far enough in condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s actions in Minneapolis, where a January 2026 crackdown escalated protests after fatal shootings. In the letter, the union said it would move toward an official resolution urging members to “shop local” and buy annual school supplies elsewhere unless Target publicly called out ICE’s “continued abuses and long-term harm to the Twin Cities.”

For Target workers, the practical significance is that the fight is now tied to the company’s day-to-day identity in a state where it is a civic institution as much as a retailer. The AFT said its members individually spend hundreds of dollars a year on school supplies at Target, and that they directly own nearly 7 million Target shares through public pension funds, with billions more in indirect exposure. That gives the union leverage that goes beyond a symbolic boycott threat.

The union also signaled that this is not a one-off letter. It said it would bring the issue to the AFL-CIO convention in Minneapolis in June, where delegates representing 15 million workers are expected to debate Target’s civil-rights record. The AFT said every Target board director is also up for election at the company’s spring annual meeting, giving the campaign a second pressure point in the same season.

The move extends an earlier fight over Target’s DEI rollback. Target Fast, the boycott launched in 2025 over cuts to DEI commitments and support for Black-owned businesses, already pulled in labor and faith leaders. The AFT joined that campaign in September 2025, becoming the first major labor organization to back the boycott. Organizers have said the earlier pressure helped force Target to recommit to support for Black entrepreneurs, historically Black colleges and universities and internal equity programs, even though the company did not restore its prior DEI framework.

Fiddelke has already signed a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce letter calling for de-escalation. But the AFT says that is not enough without a direct rebuke of ICE. For Target managers and store leaders, that means the controversy is still being handled at headquarters, but it is likely to keep surfacing in a state where the company’s workforce, customers and public image are all under the same pressure.