I have worked retail for 18 years, so before anyone starts this “you should be thankful to have a job” bullshit, let me say that I am. I do believe that 3 holidays/days off should be observed at all retail joints, gas stations, restaurants, etc…Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas… Non- essential businesses. Back in the day, NOTHING was open, and guess what…we planned ahead and survived!!! As for this shitshow called Black Friday, midnight is early enough to be open…and that is pushing it! Consumers need to buy mostly “made in China” junk products should NOT outweigh workers time with family/friends. That is what Thanksgiving is about…Consumers…mostly women and retailers
have taken this Black Friday debacle to an all time low by encroaching on Thanksgiving day, and I call shenningans on the whole mess!! I personally am of the thinking that paid holidays are an extra day off with pay…I do not want to work an extra day that week for overtime…my time with my husband and away from that shithole are worth every extra penny I am not making. Because of this, I will be celebrating the holiday this weekend, so I can actually enjoy cooking and eating without all the extra stress!!!
Substituting other holidays since I’m not American, it would depend on what I signed up for, whether the contract is being fulfilled and the reasons to have to work a holiday.
- Having to work December 3rd (think “regional version of the 4th of July”) because my client is in a place where it is not a holiday: bums me, but so long as I get another holiday as a trade-in I’ll survive.
- Having to work December 3rd because I’m working the weekend shift and that includes most holidays, getting time and a half. Well, that’s what the contract says, I knew what I was signing - I’ll survive, and commiserate with my coworkers while we have lunch.
- Having to work December 3rd with no trade-in, no meetings for that day, a clean inbox, just because the boss wants to prove that she can refuse me a day off? It’s SO on.
I work on an overnight futures trading desk, so I’m going into work at 1130 PM on Thanksgiving. It’s not a big deal, I’ll just anwer the, “Are the markets open?” question about 10-20 times.
I’d be pissed as hell if worked in retail and had to go into work on Thanksgiving night. It would ruin my day knowing I had a hell night at work to dread.
I won’t buy anything on Thanksgiving or Christmas, unless I need emergency medical care.
I used to work in a boarding stable. Holiday or not, horses still eat, drink and poop and someone needs to be there to make sure they get fed on schedule, have water, get their stalls mucked out. Skipping a day because its a holiday is not an option. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years… I worked them all. On top of that, it is considered farm labour, so no extra pay, just another day off in lieu.
I knew that when I took the job. Fair or not, the work needs to be done or the animals suffer.
sorry i wasn’t clear. i meant the stores should close for the day on thanksgiving and christmas, since the OP talked about stores that are now opening as early as thursday night for the black friday nonsense. i wasn’t suggesting groceries and other retail establishments should close on black friday too.
and here’s the “if you don’t like it, get another job” crap that always happens in threads like these. i’ve said it over and over- someone has to do these jobs. if every single retail worker who hated working holidays and black friday walked out of their jobs today, who would be left to sell you that plasma tv at 80% off or ring up your entire thanksgiving meal on wednesday night because turkey day just snuck up on you this year? it’s such a retarded line of reasoning.
No laziness for you if you’re the one hosting a holiday dinner. The years when I’ve hosted Thanksgiving I’ve had some of the hardest working days of my life. Which is kind of why I hate holiday dinners even though I love getting together with my family. I can’t really even enjoy being a guest thinking the host must hate this as much as I have. (I know not everyone hates it but I sure do).
For the last 15 years I’ve been a cop so if my schedule called gmfor it I worked it. Just one of those things. But those days tended to be quiet and easy. For maximum suckitude try Thanksgiving in Iraq. That really blew.
I have to work Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years day, every year. I don’t see the big freaking deal.
Bullpucky! If every single retail worker quit their job today, the vast majority of those positions would be filled by Black Friday. I guar-an-tee.
Nope. The hiring process in the retail store I work at takes at LEAST four days, if the computer system works right, and then certain portions of the job require 12 hours of training. And first you’d have to get locksmiths out to rekey the stores, because if we all quit en masse, there’s no way I’d be turning in my keys or going anywhere near the store.
The problem with the whole “Black Friday starts on Thursday” crap is that the big box and electronics deals suck up all the money. We have to be open, because the mall is open…but everyone is stuck in lines across the street at WalMart or Target, or they’ve spent all their money on that flat-screen and the Chia pets, or they are fighting over door-buster deals, and we don’t offer any deal that is so incredible that they are drawn in to our store. They know they can get our stuff any time, so basically we are open so that the people travelling with the Shopper can wander around and look at out stuff and not spend money. I always feel bad for the little kids dragged out in the middle of the night to sit in the cart underneath a pile of toys their parents are buying them for Christmas…no surprises in that house! And few people are doing ALL their shopping on that one day. Lots of people stay home just because of Black Friday, and we know they will eventually be in to shop with us.
And I haven’t been able to hire any extra people for my store this year. Either all the applicants were unavailable during the hours I need them or they have no experience and I don’t have the time and payroll to train them, or we just can’t offer them any significant amount of hours until the last two weeks before Christmas. Payroll is THAT tight. So I’d hire and train and then they are off for weeks. In that time, they sometimes find other jobs that then interfere with their availability for me, and I’m screwed.
I’ve worked in retail for many years, and I am very grateful to have a job. But during the years when I was a single mom with school-age kids, I’m very glad that Black Friday was not this creeping monster, because explaining to my kids that, once again, I couldn’t make dinner for them or spend time with them because it was more important to sit around waiting for people to buy sequins and fabric and blanket fleece, would not be fun. And they would have been unsupervised teens once again. I don’t work for that company any more, by the way, but unless I had a job that was critical to health and safety, I wouldn’t truly, in my heart of hearts, be full of thanksgiving if I worked that day.
In the Navy, I often worked on holidays - regular duty-section rotation. When I was single, and wasn’t scheduled for duty on the holiday, I’d often offer to swap with the man who did so he could stay home with his family.
Now I’m in retail. When I heard we’d be opening at 2000 Thursday, I volunteered to work so I could get the time-and-a-half in addition to the seven hours’ holiday pay I’ll get.
Early in my work career, I was a Circulation Manager for a “Major Metropolitian Newspaper”. Since yes, papers *are *delivered on Holidays, someone had to work. I was unmarried, no kids, so I volunteered. Perfectly fair.
They did have donuts & coffee for us.
It’s a new, evil trend. I’d be ashamed to go to a store on Thanksgiving Day. I don’t even like going to convenience stores on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Let the people have a damn holiday.
When I worked retail and fast food I’d be the first to volunteer to work holidays. The idea that people think they should be given special treatment on a holiday that generally involves cooking and eating is ridiculous. I can’t really even understand why the holiday is still active. Christmas I understand but Thanksgiving isn’t even that major, not to me at least. I’d suggest Easter or even Independence Day over Thanksgiving as a day I’d want to be off work.
I am far more sentimental about Thanksgiving than I am about Christmas or Easter. When my daughter was a child, yes, I wanted to spend Christmas or Easter with her, because those holidays are very much child centered.
Thanksgiving isn’t about cooking and eating, though they are components. Thanksgiving started as a time when we’re glad that we survived another year, although famine is no longer a big problem in this country. It’s a time to catch up with family that we haven’t seen for a while, and a time to reflect upon what we’ve done and what we plan to do.
Plus, of course, it’s THE optimal time to come out as being gay, atheist, whatever. Preferably before the desserts are served.
We do go out one place on Xmas and Thanksgiving- to see a movie. Sometimes we buy one of the staff a expresso drink or hand them See’s. It is so nice of them to work so we can have this little tradition.
The only holidays I care about are Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day. And I normally work all three, because I can’t afford to turn down time and a half.
I don’t know if it’s inherently unfair to have to work the holiday, but I know it’s damn sad that the world is apparently full of people whose lives are so empty that there’s nowhere they’d rather be on that day than fucking Walmart.
Seriously, everybody can’t setttle the fuck down and wait until 8:00 on Friday to frantically buy cheap stuff?
I’m in health care. There’s not a calendar day (or night) that I haven’t worked at some point in my career.