AFT urges members nationwide to join boycott against retailer over rollback on DEI commitments

On Labor Day in Chicago, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) announced its participation in a nationwide boycott against Target. The decision follows Target's rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in response to policies from the Trump administration. AFT President Randi Weingarten was joined by Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and Dr. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia, during the announcement at the “Workers Over Billionaires” Labor Day march and rally.

The AFT’s executive committee recently approved a resolution urging its 1.8 million members—including educators, school staff, higher education employees, healthcare workers, and government personnel—to refrain from shopping at Target until the company reinstates its previous commitments to DEI efforts.

Since Dr. Bryant initiated the boycott campaign, Target has reported a loss exceeding $12 billion in sales and has replaced its CEO due to declining consumer confidence and falling stock prices.

The AFT’s resolution calls on Target to fulfill several specific actions: complete a $2 billion pledge to support Black businesses; invest multiple millions into 23 Black-owned banks; establish ten retail training centers at historically Black colleges and universities; and fully restore as well as recommit to DEI principles.

“This week, the AFT executive council voted to join this movement’s boycott of Target. We rarely engage in this type of action, but we’re doing so here because Target betrayed promises to communities of color throughout the United States,” said Weingarten. “Target rolled back promises to help the people who have been loyal customers, because of a president who is trying to roll back history and ignore the struggle for freedom and justice. Those customers, who have helped Target’s bottom line, now feel set aside, ignored and dismissed.

“This movement comes at a crucial moment—when American workers find themselves at the whim of billionaires and board rooms that are more invested in money over people. We want this resolution—and the full weight of our nearly 2 million members—to be a reminder to Target that there are consequences to dismissing the will of the American worker and that, until they do right, our members will be spending their money in places they feel respected and recognized.”

Dr. Bryant described the partnership with AFT as significant for labor rights: “The expansion of the ‘Target Fast’ and subsequent boycott through our monumental partnership with the AFT is more than symbolic—it is prophetic,” he said. “On this Labor Day, we honor the sweat, sacrifice and struggle of working families whose hands have built this nation and whose voices must never be silenced.

“Together with educators and labor leaders, we declare that corporate America cannot dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion without facing the collective power of a people who refuse to be erased. This movement is about protecting the dignity of work, the strength of families and the soul of our democracy.”

Davis Gates highlighted economic issues affecting communities: “Every day, Black and brown working-class families walk into Target to spend $100 and leave spending $300. Their hard-earned dollars are fueling Target’s record profits and executive bonuses—even as their schools remain underfunded and their communities underserved,” she said. “So when Target retreats from its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, it’s not just cowardice—it’s complicity with white supremacy. It sends a dangerous signal to those who want to erase the dignity and safety of our students, our families and our classrooms.

The Chicago Teachers Union joins with activists Nina Turner, Tamika Mallory, Pastor Bryant, their colleagues at AFT, “and millions of others” in supporting these efforts: “If you won’t stand for equity and liberation, we won’t stand in your checkout lines.”

Fedrick Ingram echoed concerns over broken trust between corporations like Target and consumers: “For years, Black and brown shoppers have shown their loyalty to Target through their hard-earned dollars, only to be told their communities, identities and indeed hard-earned money were no longer important,” he said. “That betrayal breeds pain but this ban is not born out of anger or spite but out of an obligation to justice and fairness. It is a righteous effort to bring a company to account… When Target… turned heel to appease the retrograde agenda of the Trump administration it became clear that this ban was necessary…that Black dollar and Black labor will not be taken for granted.”