The American Federation of Teachers, America’s second-largest teachers union, is encouraging members to boycott the retail giant Target during back-to school season, not because Target supported Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but because the company has stayed “silent” rather than condemning ICE.
“We gave Target ample time to stand with the communities in which they operate and help their neighbors, but its silence about federal immigration abuses has been deafening,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in announcing the boycott last week. AFT noted that its 1.875 million members spend an average of $895 of their own money on school supplies each year. AFT created a website, ShopSmart.AFT.org, listing local alternatives to Target.
The boycott campaign’s website includes the logos of major labor unions AFL-CIO and SEIU, alongside activist groups including the League of United Latin American Citizens and Unidos MN.
Unlike many boycotts, the AFT is not accusing Target of taking some action AFT considers inappropriate, such as supporting ICE. Instead, the union faults the Minneapolis-based retailer for not publicly condemning ICE and demanding it leave Minnesota.
Critics say the boycott is baseless and ineffective, noting that Target’s stock has increased since the AFT launched successive boycott campaigns.
“The AFT’s demands are wildly off-base,” Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, told the Daily Signal in a statement Wednesday. “Target is a public company, not a political action committee.”
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“Randi Weingarten launched her war on Target because the company refused to actively oppose ICE, not because Target said anything supportive of ICE,” he noted.
AFT’s Demands
The AFT launched a Target boycott in August 2025, faulting the company for dialing back its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and for withdrawing from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
Amid the ICE surge in Minneapolis, the AFT demanded that Target call for ICE to leave. Weingarten sent a letter to Target’s incoming CEO, Michael Fiddelke, requesting a meeting and demanding action after the deaths of anti-ICE agitators Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of immigration agents.
In January, Target had joined more than 60 other Minnesota-based companies in signing an open letter from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. The letter called for “an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”
Weingarten wrote that the letter “falls short of showing real leadership to end ICE’s occupation in Minnesota.”
Yet a Target spokesperson said the company does not have any cooperation agreements with ICE.
In March, the AFT passed a resolution calling on members to avoid Target for back-to-school supplies.
The Daily Signal reached out to the union, asking for clarity about what, exactly, the group is demanding from Target, but did not get a response by publication time.
ICE Response
An ICE spokesperson rejected AFT’s characterization and told the Daily Signal, “ICE does not target schools.” New policies allowing access to schools merely prevent illegal aliens from escaping enforcement by fleeing to a school.
The spokesperson emphasized that ICE follows due process. The official warned that “dangerous rhetoric from politicians and activists demonizing our brave ICE officers had led to the over 8,000% increase in threats against DHS law enforcement.”
Have the Boycotts Worked?
DeAngelis, the Heritage analyst, condemned the AFT’s Weingarten for “strong-arming a retailer over a divisive political issue that has nothing to do with teaching kids how to read.”
“A teachers union exists to help teachers, not to run culture-war boycotts during back-to-school season,” he said.
Yet DeAngelis’ most salient criticism may involve the effectiveness of the boycott.
The total return for Target stock has been 75.12% over the past 12 months, versus 20.53% for the S&P 500. Target stock has risen 71.84% this year.
The company released sales numbers last week, reporting that net second-quarter sales had climbed 5.3% from the previous year. Comparable sales grew 3.8%, higher than the Wall Street estimates of 2.4%. Customer traffic increased 3.6% in the second quarter.
DeAngelis condemned the March boycott as an “epic fail,” noting that Weingarten “is used to failure. She has the same track record running the public school system into the ground.”
Fiduciary Duty
Greg Scott, executive vice president of 1792 Exchange, emphasized that publicly traded companies like Target have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders, and that activism of the kind AFT supports would undermine that mission.
“Corporations exist to serve their customers and their shareholders, not to serves as political megaphones for radical activist groups,” Scott told the Daily Signal. “While teachers unions want to do everything but educate children, companies like Target shouldn’t bow to the pressure to attack law enforcement.”
He noted that AFT’s own retirement funds hold millions in Target shares, calling it “ironic” that “their leadership is out there harming the very enterprises the workers’ retirements depend on.”
“The union would better serve its members by focusing on how it can strengthen teachers and improve education instead of chasing the political battles of the day,” Scott concluded.
Target did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.
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