Posted on 11/18/2011 9:45:27 AM PST by Libloather
Workers angry as Black Friday creeps into Thanksgiving
By Kavita Kumar
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Friday, November 18, 2011
ST. LOUIS – Lyndsey Shaw has been on the front lines of Black Friday in years past, helping to open the Best Buy store in Brentwood, Mo., by 5 a.m.
But when Best Buy decided to follow other retailers this year in moving up its opening time to midnight on Thanksgiving, Shaw worried she would have to miss her family’s tradition of going out to see Christmas lights after their holiday dinner.
“We don’t usually get everything cleaned up and out the door until 10 p.m.,” she said.
Fortunately, her supervisor allowed her to work a Friday afternoon shift instead.
But with several other retailers, including Macy’s, Kohl’s and Target, also opening at midnight for the first time, a groundswell of protest has been brewing among people who worry that not all retail employees will be as lucky and that some will have to skip out early on family gatherings.
And moreover, critics assert, the earlier opening times are encroaching too much on a holiday that should be reserved for family – not for shopping.
(Excerpt) Read more at nashuatelegraph.com ...
Why don’t they do it Wednesday?
I personally boycott Black Friday....I hate everything about it.
Black Friday is just another racial term to keep the working class stiff down.
I could not agree more.
Don’t they realize that the having the Diversity Crowd/Herd doing their trampling at midnight is just going to worsen the problem?
Retailers would give up this practice if people stayed home. There are people who decry these outrageous hours, but they are often first in line when the store opens.
I’ve been saying for years on this forum. The war on Thanksgiving far outpaces the war on Christmas.
Ditto - Mrs Colonel and I refuse to participate in it; of course, we’ve been seen as contrarians before...
Colonel, USAFR
Oh my so sad. I have to work all three days this year; Again.
In a depressed economy it's more difficult and the retail consumer becomes much more valuable, and they pull out all the stops to entice 'em into the stores.
Employees are loaded with the hours deemed necessary to accomplish that goal.
I’m an old traditionalist on black friday, that’s put up the decorations day. Am planning on going to a museum after the decor is up, eating lunch at the cafe. But while I don’t do the crazy shopping thing I’ve got no problem with stores trying to under cut each other. That’s what capitalism is, competition for the pennies. While I’m sure it stinks for the employees that’s why they’re entry level jobs, you’re supposed to aspire to something better. And really Christmas seasons stinks for low end retail employees anyway, the 45 minute tape loop of bad Christmas music they will have memorized every note of after 2 shifts makes sure of that.
same here, I never go out on that day as the most ignorant of society seem to come out along with the worst drivers too.
Interesting predictions. But how do they relate to Christmas shopping or Thanksgiving???
When the females in my family get together, one of their favorite family things they like to do, together, is shop.
Cue the ¨Dat´s Wacist¨ kid.
Haha. My friends dad would give us a tip for going to these, because he hated it. He would rather go buy something when its calm, and I tend to agree. I’m young yet, so getting paid a little to go watch a bunch of raving lunatics is somewhat amusing.
Don’t forget to take a camera with you to document all the amusement!
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