The United Food and Commercial Workers has started an organizing drive at 27 Target stores in the New York City Area. The stores employ around 5,000 workers. The union says that they began organizing workers after they were approached about low wages, short hours and bad working conditions. Many workers say that they do not work enough hours to support themselves or their families, and that they do not qualify for the employee health care plan. Target says that workers are paid competitive wages and that they do not see the need for a union or other third party in the company's relationship with workers. The first union election at a Target store in over 20 years will be held on June 17.
See "Union Effort Turns Its Focus to Target", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, May 23, 2011