I have a few questions for Trickology....

1) Do you own the computer you are online with? If so, where did you buy it from and what kind of business practices do the store/place you bought it from have?

2) What kind of computer is it? Can you guarantee that no slave labor was used in making the computer or any of it's components? Was the Computer and ALL of it's components made with union labor?

3) What about the server we are using right now? Same questions.

4) What about the online service you are using? Same questions.


How far do you want to go with this? If you dig deep enough, pretty much any business or product is going to have the same problems.

So IMHO unless Target has separate bathrooms for blacks and whites, or breaks labor laws, or pays workers less than minimum wage, etc....something blatant like that, I think $11.99 for 3 CD's is a great deal and a wise decision on Prince's part.

the only way i could see that a peron wouldnt be able to make ends meet working at target is if they have to many babies and dont manage their income well.

target and its employees always look well taken care of to me.

Cuddles said:

i manage my income well enough and i have no babies, but i like to spend money on things that i want, too.

3. "The kind of practices in which Target engages are prevalent across the industry."
This point is weak. The prevalence is a practice is unrelated to whether or not such a practice is moral.

the only way i could see that a peron wouldnt be able to make ends meet working at target is if they have to many babies and dont manage their income well.

target and its employees always look well taken care of to me.

Cuddles said:

I worked at Target for 2 years starting when I was 20 years old. I had two children. I also had a good man that handled his responsibilities but my money from Target coupled with my employee discount, went a long damn way when it came to diapers, formula, clothing, high chairs, toys, etc.

I left Target for greener pastures when my youngest baby was fully potty trained and off the bottle. What they lacked in compensation was made up in employee benefits for my family until we could do better. So I'm firmly under the umbrella of "Don't knock that shit until YOU have had to try it!"

Slippery slope, calling one business ethical and another the opposite.

Random questions:

Are business ethics universal. If it's wrong to lay off workers at a big-box retailer, is it unethical for a bandleader to fire his band? Was the dissolution of the Revolution unethical?

What are the parameters of fair business practices? Are they limited to the living-wage issue you raise? To the ability to organize labor within the company?

How do the union issues you raise persist within an economic climate that has not supported union setups in recent years nearly as much as during their heyday? It's been a buyer's market for employers for a lonnnnng time.

Does the Prince/Target model set any precedents with regard to a shift in merchandise pricing? To that end, does the bundling of the CDs represent a boon for consumers (and would such a boon for consumers spur consumption in a store that employs many low-wage employees)? To that latter point, will a Prince/Target partnership help spur consumption, a key element sought in economic recovery for the United States?

I'm tired, but I just wanted to get those questions out there, while they were still fresh in my head.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Preach Sista Hatrina!...baby diapers and all, let's not even talk about toys.... (just messin' with ya ) But seriously, don't some of us sound like we're doing a commercial for Target on this thread, and we're not even charging Target for our services?
[Edited 3/4/09 20:04pm]

Puh-lease.

Ask Prince's former band members if they were always respected and paid for their input and contributions. .

2elijah said:

When my babies were in diapers...they were $13.00 for the smallest bag! I don't even want to know what they cost NOW! But I'd bet cash money that the people who have to buy them, that work at Target are grateful as hell...for that employee discount!

See the title? Yea, that means people who are prone to go with Prince like the wind this thread isn't for you. It's for people like Wall,ColAngus,and whoever wants to join in a in depth critical thinking panel on the ethics of this chain store. What really humors me, is the backlash of anyone who offers a dissenting view to the usual.

Of course if you disagree you can join but cheerleading is discouraged in this thread. It's not hating to be critical. (So Mod's let's not get trigger happy on locking when you give plenty of brash Orger's on here passes because they despise Prince criticism. It happens and we all see it. No naming names but it's just facts. IT happens. )

I find this topic interesting for a few reasons because it was touched on but not in a depth fashion. Truth be told I think Prince linking up with Target he didn't do his homework on the moral/ethical practices of Target. Which just goes to show everyone needs to do a little background check on making exclusive business merge deals with a unethical company when you will be a mascot for them. Prince will be a mascot for Target. So now he has a responsibility to hear the background history of Target's abuses.

This thread will cover the ethical practices of Target & what fans are brushing off. Regardless if it's being made available elsewhere, Prince is co signing with a store that delves in SLAVE labor. I am sure you see the irony in this. Let me say that again for all my perceptive critical thinking Orger's. Prince is doing a direct deal with a chain store that involves "SLAVE LABOR" regarding their products. There is no grey there, it's just a fact.

So, I got a shovel and as soon as I touched ground, behold the evidence of this company not being on "TARGET" with ethics and the working class. (you like that pun? Yea, more puns coming in a minute)

Prince will probably be mad or embarrassed at this. Bria Valente would be wise to think through this partnership as well. Because Im guessing she didn't do her homework on a business arrangement like this. And her name is going to be branded for a long time.

So Mr "Planet Earth/Animal Kingdom/Dear Mr Man/"etc needs to realize how deep Target goes in unethical practices. I really can't believe that even alot of the mods didn't pick up on this. It's bad,people. it's really toxic association for alot of reasons. It's not going to be the right thing to sweep it across and say "SO? " Prince should know EXACTLY who he is doing business with. That is what this thread is here for.



Of more than 1,400 Target stores employing more than 300,000 people nationwide, not one has a union. Employees at various stores say an anti-union message and video is part of the new-employee orientation. At stores in the Twin Cities, where Target is headquartered, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union Local 789 has been trying for several years to help Target employees organize, with little luck.


Strike One, not one store has a union which leads to abuse in the workplace unethical business practices. Which is not supposedly the American way.
An anti-Union message. Prince is linking up with association of Anti-Union. Why is this important to an artist like Prince? It just doesn't look good at all. Everyone involved needs to know these things because their names are associated to Target as well. Bria Valente should know about the history of Target. this shouldn't be Taboo to discuss this.



People we are already off at a bad start. But it just gets worse, Embrace the horror as one of my favorite youtuber would say.



"People ask what the difference between Wal-Mart and Target is," said UFCW organizer Bernie Hesse. "Nothing, except that Wal-Mart is six times bigger. The wages start at $7.25 to $7.50 an hour [at Target]. They'll say that's a competitive wage, but they can't say it's a living wage. We know a lot of their managers are telling people, 'If we find out you're involved in organizing a union you'll get fired.'"

Strike Two: Target doesn't promote a living wage. This is bad publicity for any independent artists. We all know what Bruce Springsteen went through. Not promoting a living wage is toxic to eliminating a middle class in this society and without a middle class we lose more of what makes America the land of opportunity. It just gets worse with every fact. Intimidation? will get into that a bit.



A Target employee who asked that his name and store location be kept secret said he can barely make ends meet on his salary of $8.40 an hour.

"After three years, I have received less than $1 an hour in raises. I started at $7.65," said the worker, adding that he does love his job because of camaraderie with his co-workers. "We are never compensated and rarely even recognized for meeting our goals."

The starting wage he describes would put a single parent with two kids working full time at Target just slightly above the poverty line; someone with more children or working fewer hours would fall below the poverty line.

Compare that to Target CEO Robert Ulrich, who earned $23.1 million in 2005, according to Forbes, making him the second-highest paid CEO in the retail sector. That's more than 1300 times as much as the worker we spoke to.


Foul: This is a example of how Chain Stores are operating with the profit margin being considerably raped at the top. A race to the bottom is not how a society will thrive and prosper. By making a contractual agreement (Oh, But what happened to no more contracts? That went out the window too) Prince has to take "personal responsibility"for the business deals he prospers from. Because if we don't, we race further to the bottom. That's why it's good to have safeguards.


Now we get to the subject that everyone who is affiliated with Prince should pay attention to. Because this is the truth of "CHAIN STORES"
Which is why most of America has to have a detox of this







*****S L A V E L A B O R*****


Meanwhile a glance at labels on a few racks of stylish $20 cardigans and capri pants shows that, like Wal-Mart and most major clothing retailers, Target itself sources its products in India, Indonesia, Guatemala, Mexico, Bangladesh, Kenya, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and other low-wage, developing countries.

"The way the global garment industry is, there are so few factories that respect workers' rights that there is no way Target gets its clothes from workplaces where workers' rights are being respected," said Allie Robbins, national organizer of the group United Students Against Sweatshops.

Target doesn't differ from most major clothing vendors; you usually have to seek out small specialty companies to find union-made, American-made textiles. But as one of the country's major retailers, Target is an industry leader, fostering and profiting from the U.S.'s general culture of consumerism: We buy, buy, buy at ever lower prices in a market system sustained by very low-paid, non-union workforces in impoverished countries.

This sounds just like Wal-Mart only no real investigation because they aren't as big as Wal mart. But the big thing is Slave Labor,orger's. And being that Prince was always talking about Slavery, and all for freedom I think being associated with having Target advertise you is not being On "Target" with your principles.

I said my piece, now it's your turn.

Puh-lease.

Ask Prince's former band members if they were always respected and paid for their input and contributions. Prince having a problem with the ethics of how another business is run, especially one that will sell his work and get it in front of as many people as possible, is laughable.

Doozer said:

Didn't Prince take credit for many songs that other people created, or created the basis for? The notion that Prince is an ethical businessman seems laughable.

lspear76 said:

You are one to talk about eithics. You stated yourself you dont care about morals. Only when it comes to Prince. Whining about grown ass band members who were adults and could have bounced whenever and as if they were working for the Burger Meister/ Meister Burger.

Answer the question Lou. Did u threaten Prince?

has Trickology abandoned his own thread? I wonder why?

wonder505 said:

well if he has, could it have something to do with him being personally attacked for his views?

has Trickology abandoned his own thread? I wonder why?

Doozer said:

They knew the job was tough when they took it-(c) Super Chicken

And all these stories of band members whinin and crying. Oh brother.

who

cares

...



come on with the cds prince ... !!!