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Black Friday, one of the most anticipated shopping days of the year, will be here in a little over a week.
On next Thursday.
Several companies, including Walmart and Toys R Us, are moving the popular day of deals and sliced prices from pre-dawn on the Friday after Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving night to offer potential shoppers a head start on getting that TV, toy or appliance at a discounted rate.
While consumers will be served, not everyone is excited about the move.
Some Target employees are not happy with the retailer’s decision to open its doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. So much so that a six-year employee of Target has created an online petition on Change.org asking the company not to open on Thanksgiving.
According to reports, the petition, created by California employee Casey St. Clair, has close to 200,000 signatures. St. Clair wrote that that having to work on Black Friday prevented her from visiting family on the East Coast.
"I currently work two jobs, substitute teaching and work Target at nights and weekends, so having Thanksgiving off really does give me that one day to relax and visit family I otherwise have no time to see," the petition read.
Target spokesman Molly Snyder told NBC News that Target employees always receive time-and-a-half pay for working national holidays. Workers clocking hours during Thanksgiving and Black Friday also receive additional pay bonuses.
While Target is making what it thinks is a necessary decision to best serve its customers, is it missing the mark on employee relations? A brand is only as good as its employees. And if they feel they are getting a raw deal, that doesn’t bode well for the employee-employer relationship.
Let us know what you think. Will you be making the trip out to shop after an afternoon of stuffing yourself? Or should companies give their employees a break?
Follow Jamar Hudson: @jamarhudson
As a college student working my way through school, i have a few years or holiday retail and restaurant experience. This practice is not uncommon and for years I have arrived home late Thursday morning after working extended hours the previous night, only to leave the thanksgiving dinner early in order to drive a few hours back to school and make it to the mall in time for midnight sales. It is an absolutely ridiculous process! As a pr enthusiast and soon -to-be professional, I cringe and the lack of employee respect held within these practices. Time and a half isn’t enough! Especially when you’re being paid minimum wage.