Target faces ‘Black Thursday’ backlash

[marmar]

(MarketWatch) Though shoppers have been grousing for the past couple of years about Black Friday keeps creeping into Thanksgiving Day, it’s shareholders who are giving Target grief over the decision to kick off its sales at 9 p.m on the holiday.

On Wednesday, in a coordinated effort to rally support for waiting until Black Friday to open their doors, a group of Target customers, employees and shareholders signed a petition with nearly 212,000 signatures on the site Change.org. The for-profit social change advocate, which earns money from providing services to nonprofits, says “dozens of shareholders” have left comments, arguing that the store’s decision encourages people to work and/or shop on Thanksgiving when they could be at home with their families. A Target spokeswoman says less than one-third of employees will work on Thanksgiving and will receive time-and-a-half their hourly rate, plus additional compensation for the hours worked between Thursday and Friday morning.

But several small shareholders contend that’s not good enough, according to Change.org. “I bought stock in Target because I was so impressed by the respect and concern they showed their employees and the communities where their stores are located, wrote shareholder Jill Larson, of Minnesota. “I am disappointed to hear about this decision.”

Fellow shareholder Ben Rabizadeh agrees. “I would gladly accept a slightly lower growth rate or slightly lower dividends in order to preserve the Thanksgiving holiday for all Americans,” he says. ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/target-faces-backlash-for-black-thursday-2012-11-14

[former-republican]

1. There's a lot of people that have to work on holidays

We either shut everything down in the U.S for everyone except jobs that save lives or deal with the new consumer driven America.

You can't have it both ways

[marmar]

2. Whatever shopping can be done in a few hours on Thanksgiving Day......

...... can easily be done on other days. It's marketing-driven hype to convince people that shopping on Thanksgiving Day is de rigeur. It's what Noam Chomsky calls "created wants."

[former-republican]

4. I'm not arguing about the article it self , my point is we have done this to our selfs

If no one had gone to stores shopping on Sundays when dept stores first started opening up.
None of this would be an issue. I'm old enough , maybe you are also?
When everything was shut down on Sundays for a family day.

There were no stores , gas stations etc.. nothing open even on Sundays.

I'm curious now how many DU members remember this?

[sammytko]

7. I remember it, and no would not want to go back. Love grocery shopping on Sunday morning.

Either people are in church or getting ready to watch some sporting event.

[former-republican]

13. I agree

No one wants to go back to the days of Sunday being like that.

We (Americans) want to be able to go out and buy and spend money anytime we feel like it.
24 hour Superwalmarts , think about that.

That would have sounded crazy 40 years ago to anyone if you asked them.

[MNBrewer]

5. Yeah, you can.

This is not a binary, either/or type of proposition.

[WolverineDG]

6. I remember the days when nothing was open on holidays

it was hell.

If the employees are getting double-time & if they get to volunteer to work those hours (like I did when I was working retail...everyone wanted to work double-time shifts, so I wasn't always lucky), what's the problem?

I think this has less to do with consumerism & more to do with people looking for stuff to do that gets them out of the damn house. I don't recall anyone wringing their hands over the employees of movie theaters & restaurants that open on Turkey Day.

[sammytko]

8. Or Christmas.

[WolverineDG]

17. that too

or Easter or 4th of July or Labor Day.....

[Comrade_McKenzie]

9. You get automatically written up at Walmart for missing on a holiday... nt

[former-republican]

12. I know a few casino employees , it's the same thing

[WolverineDG]

18. At the risk of being called flippant, that is what you sign up for

when you work retail. Sorry if I fail to see the outrage here, unless it's because the workers aren't getting double-time (which they should) or being forced to work more than 6 or 8 hours (that's poor planning by management).

Nurses, doctors, cops, fire fighters, EMTs all have to pull holiday shifts. Ditto pilots, flight attendants, anyone who works at an airport or bus or train station, taxi stand....the list goes on....No one wrings their hands over their loss of time with family on holidays.

[former-republican]

10. For some reason that one line made me chuckle though I took it out of context in your post

"it was hell"




Some people claim this that have to spend all day with family on Thanksgiving

[WolverineDG]

19. You know, I can handle my family

just not all at once & in large doses. Put everyone in the same house with nothing to do but deal with each other = hell. When I was a kid, we used to fight to be one of the lucky kids who got to escape with Dad to go "get ice from 7-11." There's a reason those trips took hours.

[diabeticman]

20. Problem is most business don't ask for volunteers NOR pay double time or time and a half. There are

a growing number of businesses that look at "holidays" like any other day. IF you are schedule on a Thursday and it happens to be Thanksgiving/Christmas ___ than you are to report to work. IF employees want to celebrate the holiday in some way they can have a potluck buffet on their 15 min break. (Employees must supply food)


I remember businesses that stayed opened use to treat their employees to a little perk like providing a meal (Other than pizza --because it is cheap) and thanked the employees for volunteering their time.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. And I don't think that Target borrowing from "Do You Hear What I Hear" to see stuff

is good holiday marketing. "Frosty the Snowman" is one thing, but "DYHWIH" is kinda sacred.

[Skidmore]

11. Walmart is starting off at 8 pm on Thanksgiving day.

Hope they share the love with Wallyworld too.

[newfie11]

14. You can bet there is no holiday pay for the workers nt

[edhopper]

16. says right there

time and a half.

[edhopper]

15. Is anyine forcing anyone else

to shop on Thanksgiving? Or the next day for that matter. You don't like it? Don't do it.
And there are probably many employees that would welcome the chance for time and a half before the holidays. Many are single without families. I've worked on Christmas a few times. Good gig.