A major teachers’ union is calling for its members to skip Target when buying back-to-school supplies, the latest twist in a series of boycotts that have targeted the big-box retailer as its turnaround shows signs of life, CNBC has learned.

The AFT, or American Federation of Teachers, passed a resolution Thursday that calls on its 1.8 million members and others to shop at local stores and not at Target, saying the company did not respond adequately to the surge of federal immigration enforcement in the retailer’s hometown of Minneapolis this winter. Federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during the operation.

The labor union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, plans to urge a similar resolution at AFL-CIO’s convention in Minneapolis this summer and at conventions held by other organizations, including the NAACP and LULAC, AFT President Randi Weingarten said.

Target declined to comment specifically on the AFT’s resolution but said in a statement that it has “a longstanding commitment to strengthening the communities we serve,” including donating 5% of profits since the company’s founding and offering a discount to educators as part of a teacher appreciation program.

Target’s annual sales have declined for the past three years in a row, but the company’s new CEO Michael Fiddelke laid out an ambitious plan earlier this month to refresh its stores, add more enticing merchandise and return to sales growth. The retailer said it expects net sales to rise about 2% this fiscal year compared with the prior year and anticipates sales will grow every quarter.

It is unclear if and how much the AFT’s call for a back-to-school boycott could hurt Target, which is trying to win back customers. Earlier this month, Atlanta area pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant announced the end of a yearlong boycott of the company, called Target Fast, which had started because of the company’s rollback of major diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

At a press conference, Bryant said Target has demonstrated its commitment to the Black community with investments in Black businesses and donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Yet other activists leading a separate boycott, including former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, have said they continue to call for shoppers to steer clear of Target.

The AFT previously supported and participated in the Target boycott over its DEI rollback.

The retailer has attributed some of its sales losses to backlash to its DEI decision, along with other factors including company missteps with merchandise, a weaker store experience and softer discretionary spending.

At an investor meeting in Minneapolis in early March, Fiddelke stressed that it’s “a new chapter for Target.” He said the company is “doing the work to build connection with new guests, deepen relationships with existing guests and earn back trust with guests we’ve disappointed.”

In a separate email to Target employees earlier this month, Fiddelke highlighted how the retailer is putting its strategy into action, including through its move to cut prices on more than 3,000 items and the opening of its 2,000th store. He said Target has made progress with winning back trust, too, noting the end of the Target Fast boycott.

He said Target has had “ongoing conversations with the organizers” of the boycott, who have “acknowledged the meaningful contributions Target has made, and will continue to make, to the Black community.”

In an interview with CNBC, Weingarten said the AFT’s boycott is focused on what she called Target’s lack of response to the surge of aggressive and violent immigration enforcement in its own backyard. Weingarten said the AFT sent a letter to Target and met with Target staff to encourage them to speak up before the union moved to pass the resolution.

“Target was negotiating with our colleagues in the civil rights community for weeks and weeks and weeks,” she said. “They could have very easily dealt with both [concerns about DEI and immigration enforcement] and they chose not to.”

She said Target is “more worried about standing with the Trump administration than the communities that made them a profitable company.”

Fiddelke joined dozens of executives from Minnesota-based corporations in co-signing a letter in late January calling for an “immediate de-escalation” in the state after the fatal shooting of Pretti. However, the letter did not name the shooting victims Pretti or Good or call out the president, his immigration policies or federal agents.

Fiddelke also shared a video message with employees that more directly acknowledged current events, but stopped short of calling for ICE agents to leave the city or for accountability in the two shooting deaths.

Weingarten described the CEOs’ letter as “insulting” and said it “basically blamed both sides.”

She said the union, which includes many teachers, can have the greatest financial impact during the back-to-school shopping season this summer and fall. By passing the resolution now, she said, the AFT can get the word out to members and “give Target enough time to come back to its senses.”

Tesco and Sainsbury’s customers are paying more than Waitrose shoppers for some common branded groceries if they are not using a loyalty scheme, analysis by Which? has found.

The watchdog compared a list of 245 branded items including Heinz, Nescafe and Mr Kipling in February, finding that it was, on average, most expensive for customers at Sainsbury’s and Tesco who were not using the Nectar or Clubcard loyalty schemes.

Which? acknowledged that most shoppers are part of a membership scheme, but said some may be unwilling to sign up to loyalty cards for reasons such as data privacy, while others have no choice because of eligibility criteria.

Tesco customers who are under 18 can not sign up to a Clubcard, although the supermarket has announced it will review this before the end of the year.

The Which? list of items was most expensive at Sainsbury’s for non-Nectar members at £942.66 – 14% more than the cheapest retailer in the study Asda, which cost £823.58.

Tesco followed behind Sainsbury’s, with its non-Clubcard price totalling 11% more than Asda at £916.56.

Which? said it did not include discounters Aldi and Lidl in the study because they did not stock a sufficiently large range of branded goods.

Both Tesco and Sainsbury’s – the UK’s two largest grocers – were more expensive for non-members of their loyalty schemes than Waitrose, which cost £899.05.

Waitrose was 9% more expensive than Asda and emerged as a “more competitive option”, Which? said.

Which? found several products that were cheaper at Waitrose, including Amoy Straight To Wok Noodles, which were on average £1.25 at both Waitrose and Morrisons but most expensive at Sainsbury’s and Tesco without a loyalty card at an average of £2.15 – a 72% difference.

Sea salt and vinegar Ryvita Thins were also cheapest on average at Waitrose at £1.25, but shoppers buying this product at Morrisons, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s without a loyalty card would all have paid an average of £2.30, making them 84% more expensive.

For customers with a Clubcard, Which? found that the same list of groceries at Tesco fell to £837.43 on average – just 2% more expensive than Asda.

Which? found various instances of branded products where the Tesco Clubcard price was the cheapest on average.

Carex Hand Wash was 95p at Tesco with a Clubcard but £1.70 at Waitrose where it was the most expensive.

Another example showed Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut cornflakes was £1.55 on average in February, while the highest average price among the supermarkets was at Waitrose where it cost £2.50.

Which? said the figures showed the “dramatic price gulf” created by loyalty pricing.

In one example at Tesco, Which? found a 200ml bottle of L’Oreal Paris Elvive Bond Repair Shampoo was double the price on average for shoppers without a Clubcard – at £13 compared to £6.50.

The higher price was also found at both Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.

Which? found that a 200g jar of Kenco Smooth coffee cost shoppers at Tesco and Sainsbury’s without a loyalty card £8.35 – the highest price on the market.

In contrast, the same jar was £7 at Waitrose and £6.32 at Asda, on average.

Similarly, Waitrose had the cheapest average price for Nescafe Gold Blend at £6.25, while non-members at Sainsbury’s were asked to pay £8.35.

Meanwhile, Which? found customers who used a Nectar card at Sainsbury’s could expect to pay only 3% more than Asda at £848.56 for the entire list of items.

Morrisons averaged 4% more expensive than Asda when using a More card and 5% more expensive without one.

Ocado was also 5% more expensive than Asda.

Which? retail editor Reena Sewraz said: “Our analysis reveals a shocking truth and shows the impact loyalty schemes have had on grocery pricing.

“Branded favourites can actually be cheaper at Waitrose than at the UK’s biggest supermarkets for shoppers who don’t use a loyalty card – something that would have seemed unthinkable until a few years ago.

“If you’ve got your heart set on specific brands, your best bet is to shop around, keep a close eye on the unit price, and stock up whenever you see a good deal – otherwise, you’re likely to end up paying way over the odds.

“While loyalty cards definitely offer some savings, if you don’t use one you’re better off heading to Asda, where the pricing is usually cheaper on a range of branded goods.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We have invested over £1 billion in recent years to help keep prices low and we know more customers are choosing to do their shop at Sainsbury’s.

“We are committed to helping customers access great quality at lower prices and remain focused on offering outstanding value across thousands of products through our Aldi price match scheme, Nectar prices, Your Nectar Prices and our own-brand value lines.”

A spokesman for Tesco said: “It’s no secret that Tesco Clubcard unlocks exceptional savings for the 24 million UK households who have one.

“More than 80% of our sales are made with a Clubcard – but it’s just one of the ways our customers get great value.

“Though everyday low prices we keep prices consistently low on thousands of branded products, and our Aldi price match ensures shoppers can be confident they’re getting competitive prices.”