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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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If you cannot tolerate working on holidays and weekends, get out of retail. If you aren't qualified for anything else, tough.
Yeah thats the ticket. Instead of stores being closed. You know people can't by a shirt the next day. Or for that matter the 350 days or so that arn't holidays. Such a trial!
Thanksgiving is probably the one national holiday celebrated by all, regardless of creed. Stores' greed does not get to trump holidays.
I say anyone that doesn't want to work gets fired. There are plenty of hardworking Americans out there looking for jobs and will work
Everyone should have Thanksgiving off.
Even hospital employees, and fire fighters and police officers? Yippee!! We're getting the holidays off, you're on your own everyone!
Obviously essential service are different than retail. No one needs to do Christmas shopping on a national holiday.
Is there no limit to greed? Sounds like a "right to work" scenario. Family first or forget it.
Who cares when box stores open? I am shopping the smaller independent stores to help my local economy instead of lining billionaires pocket
Some of us have to work holidays. Public safety does not depend on retail clerks working them. Let retail businesses close at noon.
Money hungry the CEO's need money for their end of the year bonus.. The holidays are all for money and not the holiday. Merry Chirstmas
Companies always say they care about their employees but do things like this. I have not and will not shop at these off hours.
I certainly will not be shopping on Thanksgiving Day. I will be spending this day with my family! And not to sure about Friday either!
Let those who want to work do so.
The money will still be there on Friday and the employees will have time with family & time to rest! Legislate is the ONLY ANSWER.
People should not be forced to work Thanksgiving, but if the store opens and employees want to work, go for it.
Holidays and Sundays, STORES AND BUSINESSES SHOULB BE CLOSED!!!!!!
There are many occupations that don't have the holiday off such as health care workers, firemen, police officers, etc. They still have to work and don't get to spend the holidays with their families. You don't hear them complaining. This is the nature of retail. When I worked in retail, we had to work on Thanksgiving to get ready for Black Friday. It was expected. If you want the holidays off, you should find an occupation that allows for that. And for those that don't like Black Friday and what it stands for, don't go out and shop. That is the best way to send your message. If no one shows up to shop, the message will be sent to the retailers that this is not a good idea. But I am sure there will be lots of people out there Thanksgiving night shopping, their way of spending time with their family.
At least keep Christmas to the Christmas Season. With decorations on the shelves before Halloween, it seems that profit is all they want.
It's called "Black Friday" for a reason! Not "Black Thursday-Friday". Turkey day is a day for families, not the almighty dollar!
If the stores can't make the same deals available during daytime hours then they don't deserve my money. I'd rather stay home with family.
BAH HUMBUG that is why the major retailers have requested all networks to ban Scrooge movies and cartoons.. because they feel stigmatized... I wonder why??? hope the ghosts and spirits teach them a lesson.... Open the stores whenever you want but have all board members and CEO/President/CFO and executives work the cashiers and retail stores during the holiday season... and deal with the mob of idiots that go... that is fair... serve as an example work all exectives work the cashiers and cust service big box stores fronts from 8pm thanksgiving till next day!!!
Black Friday is Friday. And, 7am so that people are less cranky -- customers and employees alike.
But I'm not shopping until Friday Morning. And I won't be shopping at stores stealing employees away from their families.
Thanksgiving needs to be left alone and all retail stores should be closed and the meaning of the day left to a day of thanks for all.
When will it stop? In another year or so, the sales will start on Wednesday and employees won't get a break at all. Greed is killing Americ
Merchants are getting ridiculous with this holiday shopping - AND decorating.
Never been to a black Friday sale. Never wanted anything badly enough to risk the stampede.