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'Like a prison': Target warehouse workers in Perth Amboy rally to become first to unionize

Nick Muscavage
Bridgewater Courier News

PERTH AMBOY – Former employees of the Target warehouse on High Street said conditions at the facility were "like a prison" and workers were treated "like robots."

It’s claims such as these that led to a unionization effort there and a rally Thursday at which current and former employees met with union members and city officials to call for better working conditions.

The warehouse, referred to as a work flow center, would be the first Target location to unionize if the push to join Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is successful, and officials say it could lead to a national trend.

Current and former employees of the Target warehouse in Perth Amboy met with city and union officials on Thursday, Feb. 20 to push for unionization with SEIU and better working conditions at the facility and across the company.

"Working here is very difficult, they don't have any consideration for the workers," one former employee, identified as Esmeralda, of Perth Amboy, said through a translator. "They treat workers like robots"

She also said workers are timid to use the restroom afraid that it would interfere with their production quotas.

Management, she said, requires employees to work mandatory overtime and has fired workers without reason. When she worked at the facility, she said there were "many unjust terminations."

Sean Loso and, site director at Target’s Perth Amboy facility, wrote a letter to the city's mayor and said that "Target has a long history of investing in our team and creating a safe environment of mutual trust."

"The hundreds of jobs Target created in Perth Amboy are safe, provide market-leading pay and benefits and ultimately help improve the community," he said.

Another woman, identified as Anna, of Perth Amboy, said she felt like she was "in prison" when she worked at the warehouse.

"The work is very hard," she said through a translator. "You come to work 10 hours a day."

From the time you start until the time you finish a shift, she said, "you are isolated."

Carmen, a current employee of the warehouse, claimed she was "harassed" by a manager and wasn't offered support to grow as a worker.

From left, current and former employees of the Perth Amboy Target warehouse Anna, Esmeralda and Carmen, in Perth Amboy rallying with city and union officials on Thursday, Feb. 20 to push for unionization with SEIU and better working conditions at the facility and across the company.

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More than 50 people turned out for the rally. Throughout the event, people chanted phrases such as, "What's disgusting? Union busting!" and "Union strong, union proud. Everybody say it loud!"

Megan Chambers, co-manager of SEIU, said the warehouse workers began discussing the unionization efforts last year.

"When these workers at the Target warehouse started organizing with our union last year, Target called them all into meetings and told them, 'Don't even speak to the union,'" Chambers said. 

She also said Target employees across the country recently have been standing up for better working conditions.

Current and former employees of the Target warehouse in Perth Amboy met with city and union officials on Thursday, Feb. 20 to push for unionization with SEIU and better working conditions at the facility and across the company.

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"Target must do better," she said. "Perth Amboy deserves better."

Mayor Wilda Diaz, who attended the rally with several City Council members, said the labor concerns could violate the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) program that greenlighted construction of the warehouse, which her administration approved in 2017.

"It's such an unfortunate circumstance," she said. "We worked so hard to bring in good corporations to create good-paying jobs for our residents and to build up the families that live in the city."

Loso, in his letter to Diaz, said that Target is not party to the PILOT agreement, only the developer is, but insisted Target treats its workers fairly and did not try to block unionization efforts. He told the mayor he is open to continued conversations.

Diaz also wrote a letter to Target's management team in Perth Amboy, urging them to "take the high road" and ensure the jobs provide living wages and "empower workers and their families."

"I stand here joining this effort because I understand that our residents deserve much better," she said. "You, the workers, deserve so much more."

Email: ngmuscavage@gannettnj.com

Nick Muscavage is a watchdog reporter for the Courier News, Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to his investigative work that has exposed wrongdoing and changed state law, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.