Respect Workers For The Holidays

So, this week is Thanksgiving. Once upon a time, Black Friday began on Friday, the morning after Thanksgiving. In recent years, more and more stores have been starting their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving day. Even that first started in the evening, then moved earlier and earlier. At this point it may be all day Thanksgiving, taking away any chance for employees to spend with their families on that day.

I’ll be clear. I have spent my life in service industries of one kind or another. Years ago I was a chef in restaurants. Every restaurant I ever worked in was open on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I accepted it and went along with it. People have to eat, many have to or choose to eat out for the holidays. Later I was in the Army and was frequently not in the position where I had a holiday. Then I became a nurse, which is a 24/7 occupation. In my 25 years of nursing, I worked in positions where I had holidays maybe 2 of those years and had a couple of years I was not employed for one or both holidays. (I opted to suspend the job search until January for obvious reasons.)

Retail is not service. People do not have to shop for televisions, clothes and cheap plastic shit on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

What is happening here is that corporations are forcing people to leave their families on Thanksgiving and Christmas for the sake of corporate profits. In the majority of cases, these employees have no choice. They are threatened with personnel action up to and including termination from their low wage jobs if…