Shop on Thanksgiving? No thanks

[proud2BlibKansan]

Written by my friend, Judy Ancel. :)

By Judy Ancel, Special to CNN

Editor's note: Judy Ancel is a labor educator and the director of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Institute for Labor Studies. She hosts a weekly radio show, "The Heartland Labor Forum," on KKFI 90.1 FM, Kansas City Community Radio.

Kansas City, Missouri (CNN) -- Big-box stores are stealing Thanksgiving, and their workers aren't happy about it. After Target decreed that Black Friday would start at midnight Thanksgiving night and that employees must report to work at 11 p.m., an Omaha worker, Anthony Hardwick, posted a petition at Change.org asking the company to move the official start of Christmas shopping back to 5 a.m. Friday. Response from workers and others has been stellar: 192,000 signatures by Monday.

Best Buy will also be opening at midnight, so Rick Melaragni, a Tampa employee, posted a similar petition. It currently has 14,000 signatures.

Why did this hit such a nerve? Hardwick's petition says, "A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation -- all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night's rest on Thanksgiving!" But he will have to cut out on the family to grab some sleep, because he'll be up all night working. Melaragni told The Huffington Post that Best Buy will be showing a Harry Potter movie to customers camped outside, so some employees will have to report to work by 8 p.m. to set up.

Walmart is the leader in this year's great race to gobble up employee turkey time. It announced its opening at 10 p.m. Thursday. Since two-thirds of Walmart's hourly workers are women, many will arrive exhausted after cooking the family feast.

more . . . http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/22/opinion/ancel-thanksgiving-shop/index.html