i'm going to protest because i'm sick of having to get to work at 8 AM...treat me like a human being!
I know adults (30+) who thoroughly enjoy working in retail and a couple are even doing it as a second job (they don't need the money) simply becuase they like it.
Amen. I purposely don't go to stores or restaurants on these days because I don't like the being a part of the reason folks are forced to be away from their families. I learned this from working jobs that require me to come in on Christmas/Thanksgiving. It sucks. Would be nice if these corporations somehow had a heart, but, you know the spiel- business...gotta make money...shut your mouth and do your job...don't complain...rabble rabble rabble All the same crap will be purchased anyway, just a day later.
If your heater went out on Christmas day or you had a plumbing problem, would you wait until the next day to call a repairman?
Yeah, it's a collective values thing. It irks me sometimes that Costco is closed on some non-federal holidays, and that their weekend hours are limited, etc. But then I remember, that the company treats their employees very well and has some of the best working conditions around, and that's all part of it. So, it makes me want to reward them with my business. Just a small inconvenience I have to deal with, but it's worth it. If I felt that it was unreasonable of these workers to expect to not be forced on Thanksgiving day, I probably wouldn't support them. The fact that some people think this request is selfish/unreasonable is really, really surprising. We have crappy values/standards for ourselves.
There's still plenty of people who are in no danger of having to work holidays. It might be a convenient way to draw class distinctions -- those who have the power to control their work-life balance, and those who do not (once you control for the essential-personnel jobs, though they might split too).
Would he expect to be able to find a repairman easily, and would he feel justified in acting indignant if told "no"? Probably not.
Better yet, if you had a medical emergency on Thanksgiving, would you wait until the next day to go to the hospital?
Do you know how much a plumber charges to do an emergency job on Christmas day? I think this is one profession who probably isn't complaining about working holidays.
I work for an IT consulting company. We have employees on project that come from other countries (like almost everyone else who lives in America) and their families are still overseas. I bet they are excited for the time off... until they try and enjoy themselves but find out everything is closed. I used to write corporate communications for a company that would send me random work on Christmas, weekends, whenever. I kept my mouth shut and did my job. Instead of signing a petition I found another job. Crazy how applying effort can get you places. I never post in the D&D, I'm only posting in here because my dad works some of these holiday shifts (mom too), and I've never heard them complain about it. At the same time, I've been in a situation where work took me away from the things I loved and instead of being broken down by those circumstances I became inspired and put an end to it.
Stop for a moment and think about the fact you're comparing Wal-Mart to a freaking Emergency Room visit.
Good for you, they're applying their efforts to improving their working conditions where they currently are. Why does this bother you compared to looking for alternative employment?
My point is that the poster who I responded to said he doesn't frequent stores or restaurants on Christmas because he doesn't want to contribute to them being away from their families and I am curious as to how far carries out that commitment. Does he get gas on Christmas if needed? Does he watch the news on TV? Does he go to sporting events? Does he go to the movies? Does he ever travel on Christmas?
Ummm, it would be the store owner's choice whether to be open on Sundays. No one is demanding that stores are forced to be open on Sunday.
What makes you think those people don't complain? The fact that you don't hear it on the news? You think these people are happy to be away from family on the holidays?
LOL, some of you guys are really grasping at straws now. You're right, asking multimillion dollar athletes and entertainers to work on a holiday is completely unreasonable and unfair. You got us, if we do anything that requires anybody to be at work on a holiday then we're giant flaming hypocrites and our opinion on whether it is good practice to force retail employees to work on Thanksgiving is totally null and void. Good job. Winnars r u. This Thanksgiving I will sit in a dark room by myself playing tiddlywinks so I can support what I deem to be fair treatment of workers.
