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Subscribe to RSSBlack Friday starts at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving day and retailers expect to ring up as much as 20 percent of their holiday sales over the Thanksgiving weekend. CNBC's Courtney Reagan reports.
Target employees are seeing red after the retailer announced its stores will open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, cutting into holiday time for workers. An online petition asking Target to not open on Thanksgiving has over 179,000 signatures, and the number continues to rise.
Thanksgiving, a time for family, togetherness, turkey ... and standing for hours to service the needs of the relentless hordes of shoppers seeking the last Furby and deeply discounted HDTV sets. Indeed, Black Friday, which traditionally started in the pre-dawn hours of Friday, has seen its hours pushed back in recent years so that stores start offering savings on Thanksgiving night itself.
This year, Walmart, Toys R Us, Kmart, and Sears are all opening their doors at 8 pm Thursday. Together with Target, that's two to four hours before they kicked things off last year.
A Target worker started an online petition calling on the retailer to not move Black Friday to Thursday. In a few days the petition gathered nearly 200,000 signatures. NBC's Diana Alvear reports.
Reached for comment, Target spokesperson Molly Snyder told NBC News: "Target’s opening time was carefully evaluated with our guests, team and the business in mind. Across the country, team member preferences were considered in creating our store staffing schedules. Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest of the year, and we appreciate our Target team’s flexibility on this weekend and throughout the holiday season."
Synder 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, she said. Only one-third of Target's workforce is scheduled to work on Thanksgiving.
Some employees are "excited" for the chance to work extra hours, she said. "We’ve heard from many stores that they had more team members volunteer to work than they had available shifts," Snyder said.
Not everyone is thrilled about stores being open on Thanksgiving, with Casey St. Clair, a Target employee, and Stacey Widlitz, S.W. Retail Advisors.
But there are a few people out there, almost 200,000, who think that something with "Friday" in the name should actually start on Friday.
The Change.org user who created the petition, "C. Renee," is a self-described six-year employee of Target living in California. In the petition description the user wrote that having to work on Black Friday prevented him or her from visiting their family on the East Coast.
C. Renee wrote, "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 user did not respond to an NBC News request for additional comment.
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I would never shop Thanksgiving night. It is family time !!!
Our family holidays are being destroyed by the rampant greed of the stores. Let's fight back.
We can fight back by not shopping on those days. They wouldn't be doing it if it were not profitable.
Destroyed by greed? How silly. Simply do not participate. Retailers have no effect on my family holidays, as we simply do not shop between Thanksgiving and New Year. It's not that difficult. Talk about over-reacting - seems the new national sport.
Mister Wonderful- and you're working which holidays this year? Dork-wad!
Retailers have been pushing Christmas earlier and earlier each year. Being open on Thanksgiving only hurts their employees.
Really, does anyone really need to shop that bad? I feel for these people who have to work like slaves for a retailer master.
Since the store has more volunteers for these higher paying shifts than they need to work, seems that using the word "slave" is irresponsible.
As for the ridiculous example in the story - the person admits they work nights and weekends for Target, then complains that they have to work nights and weekends, like it's Target's fault.
How about everyone donate their time so we don't have to pay for anything, then none of us have to work at all?
Mister Wonderful, what are you trying to say? Are you sayubg that these employees should work on a holiday? explain it to me in a simpler way. I'm a simpleton,They are complaining they have to work on Thanksging night,not Black Friday. I remember when the good ole days when all stores were closed on Thanksgivng Day..and Christmas Day.
Sorry for the mispelling
Businesses can open whenever they want. Whether or not the public chooses to go at those times is another thing.
Back in the day stores closed early on Wednesday, prayer meeting night and most retailers were closed on Sunday.
This is ridiculous! I think people should boycott all stores that open before Friday morning. Family is most important, not $$$.
I think it's dumb to open Thanksgiving evening, but I'm not the owner.
Up to consumers to stand up to retailers. Don't shop at stores open on Thurs nt. Don't make it worth it for them to be open so early.
Avoid the stores until Friday morning. I'm spending very little anyway due to taxes and cost of living going up.
This has gotten out of hand. What's wrong with 7am Friday morning?? Really....
Welcome to the new "service" economy. Work yourself into the grave for minimum wage, no benefits, and whenever the company demands.
Unions are evil, unions are bad. Hey wait we're getting screwed, what do we do? Uhh let's try to organize something somehow... tough luck
Instead of shopping Thanksgivimg evening and Black Friday. How about helping and do something for those that lost everything in Hurricane Sandy.. The families in the Rockaways do not have homes to go back to and Staten Island as well. How about helping them out by giving instead buying for yourselves?
These families have children and they need to eat and need warm clothing..
why dont nobama do somethin instead of partin with celebs??? he aint ben nowheres near them peoples and dats how be ben thankin for gettin bak da crib????? nobama maybee black skinned but he all white inside. nobody helpin comon folk ause he jus got bak in and wants to go golfin with his white riche fellas. i jus wished i be shoppin on black friday but go no nobama check yet.
I see no reason to open physical stores until after midnight. These retailers have working websites if anyone wants to shop on Thanksgiving Day. I don't ever go out on black Friday anyway, not interested in getting run down by mobs of crazy shoppers.
This makes me laugh. It's like these "anti-government" and "anti-union" jamokes. At some time in their lives, they get screwed and want as a remedy for a group of people to act toward a common interest. These idiots start saying things like "let's all protest", or "let's all get together and boycott Target". Yeah that will work. Duhh ***hole, that's where the need for unions and governments came about, because you can't stamp your feet or wave a magic wand and get a group of people to all act a certain way or do a certain thing.
All Corporate Headquarters salaried employees report to the check outs. Hourly employees enjoy the day off!
This is a day for people to spend time with their families and wake up the next day late. Looks like I won't be shopping at Target either.
Personally, I will not be shopping on Black Friday and definitely will not be in any store on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone should stay home.
Very simple. You don't like your hours? Quit. Obama will give you 99 weeks of unemployment. What's the big deal?
Personally, i would rather be standing in line thursday evening then waiting till midnight to hit the stores...i want to shop then go home!
Hey, if you're so unskilled or uneducated that the only job you qualify for is a stock boy or clerk at Target, what the hell do you expect...$50 an hour, full benefits, paid vacations, comp days, a pension at 50 years of age? Hey, you're unskilled labor. Be thankful you have a job and stop whining like an entitiled democrat. Either that or quit having kids when you're 16 and spending half your income on crap you can shove up your nose or smoke yourself silly with. Damn cry babies.
greed is taking the place of good family values, company greed that affects the economy which in turn forces hard working people to have to struggle and bypass "holidays" and other relaxing times with family we should be enjoying.
Gee, here's a novel idea... how about people just stop blindly following the herd to the stores on Thanksgiving. Sick of Christmas music in October? Then tell the manager why it is that you are no longer shopping there and walk out the front door. Seriously people.. YOU have the final say. Take your business to the local hometown shops that are closed on Thanksgiving and who could benefit from our LOCAL shoppers. Oh gosh... your "Baby-poops-a-lot with the real, stinky diaper" might cost $1 more? What is keeping your local businesses IN business worth to you? I can count on one hand the number of times I've been in Wal-Mart in the past 10 years. Most of there made in China JUNK ain't worth crap anyway. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL/HOMETOWN BUSINESSES!!